


Stellar Collision

by TravelerByNature



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-01-29 17:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TravelerByNature/pseuds/TravelerByNature
Summary: The Stellar Collision is the coming together of two or more astrological bodies which merges and forms into a larger unit, through the forces of gravityExcerpt:Kara Danvers had always been different from everybody around her. People fell asleep and woke up to the same reality. They would go about their day, trying their best to forge meaningful bonds and to find their calling. It was irrefutably clear to them what was real and what was not. There was no doubt in their minds that this life, that had been given to them, was it.She didn't have that luxury.Short summary:With two lives and time ticking to figure out which reality she belongs in Kara's only hope is to find find 'the key'. The thing, or person, who is supposed to save her.
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 32
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Supercorp fan fiction so naturally I'm a bit nervous. I just couldn't get the concept out of my head so I decided to go for it. I just really hope you guys enjoy this one.
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated :)

The Stellar Collision is the coming together of two or more astrological bodies which merges and forms into a larger unit, through the forces of gravity.

Kara Danvers had always been different from everybody around her. People fell asleep and woke up to the same reality. They would go about their day, trying their best to forge meaningful bonds and to find their calling. It was irrefutably clear to them what was real and what was not. There was no doubt in their minds that this life, that had been given to them, was it.

She on the contrary didn't have that luxury. Whenever she would fall asleep she would wake up to her other life. Time wasn't linear for the blonde, she would still get the expected hours of sleep, but she had two realities. Those two lives were linear. Kara never missed a day in one when she was in the other. The complex and mysterious concept of time somehow made sure of that.

Her two lives had some similarities and were completely different in other aspects. Kara was always Kara, her character traits didn't change. Neither did that Alex was her sister or that certain people meant something to the blonde. Who they dated and sometimes how they felt about her did however vary. As did what Kara did for a living. 

In one she was attending university where she was on the soccer team and studied journalism. In the other she was trying her luck as a reporter at CatCo magazine without a university degree.

It had taken her a few years to figure out that what she was experiencing was different. Her sister had helped her with understanding it. Had been there for her when she was feeling lost and alone. This had brought them even closer together and had strengthened their bond. In both worlds naturally. 

Her older sister was the only person who knew about it too. Kara never felt comfortable enough to tell someone about it who wasn't Alex. But that might also stem from the knowledge that only one of her two realities was real, while the other one was not meant for her to keep forever.

Kara had learned more about the thing that made her unique when the first few dots of her tattoo had started to appear on her back. With them came knowledge that she hadn't possessed before.

The blonde girl had no idea what the image would end up portraying. What she did know though was that once it was completed she would have to have figured out which of the two was her true reality. If she was right she would continue her life like everybody else, linearly. She would lose the other one of course, which already pained and troubled her more than she would ever admit to Alex. However it was still the more appealing outcome, because if she wasn't right she would not just have two realities, she would wake up in a different life every time she fell asleep. Never knowing if she would ever get to continue one life she had started.

Since she was adopted she didn't know if she had any relatives out there, going through the same thing or having already successfully done so. Kara ached to know more about where she came from and why it was that she had this ability. Information, knowledge came to her in her dreams. She still had those, even if they purely existed for the purpose of giving her 'guidance'. Yet she had never found out anything regarding those questions.

Whenever Kara would think about what she had actually learned since the tattoo had started to visualize, she ended up being frustrated. It was next to nothing. The only information that seemed to hold any significance, considering that it was now the only detail making reappearances in her dreams, was the importance of the 'key'.

The key was the thing that was supposed to guide her to the truth. Be the thing that gave her clues to which was her true reality, her true life. The key was supposed to save her from a life in limbo.

The sound of her alarm woke Kara up. There hadn't been a dream. No new clues on how to figure out any of the problems she faced. But there haven't been any dreams for a while now so it didn't come as a surprise to her.

After shutting her eyes for another second the blonde finally got up and patted into the kitchen of her small apartment in the center of the city. It wasn't exactly run down, though it could definitely be better. Her bedroom could barely fit a bed and a closet, attached to it was a tiny bathroom with a shower. The rest of the space functioned as a living room, kitchen and work space all in one. But with her small salary from working at CatCo worldwide media it was all she could afford.

Making herself a strong cup of coffee Kara got dressed for the day. A simple blue button up shirt with well-fitting black chinos. It was basically her go-to outfit. She could combine both of the items with various other pants or shirts. A fashion that was timeless. And definitely a fashion that saved her a lot of money.

Walking into CatCo was different today. Everyone was in a frenzy. Cat Grant was shouting at some of her employees inside her office while the rest seemed to either hurry around or punch furiously the keys of their keypad.

“What the hell is going on?”, Kara questioned Nia, one of her best friends, when she sat down next to her at their shared work space.

“Someone just intercepted a prisoner transfer of the most dangerous convicts. No one knows where they are now nor who was behind it. There are a lot of speculations on the internet, ranging from breaking them out so they are free, to kidnapping to use them for a bigger plan and to government conspiracy theories.”, her friend filled her in.

“Where was the transfer headed?”, Kara wanted to know, shocked by the latest news.

“That's the thing”, the brunette whispered, “Other than the information that there had been one there is no record of anything else. We don't know where it was headed and why the prisoners were being transferred in the first place.”

“Wow.”, was all the blonde could say.

National City had always been an interesting place, but this was of a new magnitude. A secret prisoner transfer headed to an undisclosed location. It sounded like something out of a movie. No wonder that the entire office was in such a hysteria. Whoever was going to be the one to solve this mystery was going to get a whole lot attention and subscribers. Not to mention that finding out the truth and reporting on it was exactly a reporter's calling.

The more Kara thought about it the more intrigued she was. A strong sense of purpose rose inside her chest and with a look of determination she faced her friend again.

“So what you're saying is that nobody is going to notice when we slip out and go investigate for ourselves?”

Nia's eyes went wide.

“You want to go out there while the whole city is playing detective as well?”, she wondered, “With our resources here we can lay some groundwork, search the internet conversations for clues. Isn't it more reasonable if we do this first instead of diving in head first?”

“Sure we could do that.”, Kara nods, aware that it would be the logical approach, “But we have two things that the average person doesn't.”

“And those are?”

“An older sister working in law enforcement and the sharpened eye of a reporter.”

Walking through the streets the blonde reporter could feel the shift in energy. By now it was the only topic of people's conversations. There were so many theories and it seemed like there were just as many people claiming to know something, sensing an opportunity for a moment in the spot light.

Feeding the police and the media false information was something Kara couldn't stand. She didn't get how some seemed to get a kick out of it, how they simply did it to bask in the limelight for a while. It hindered them from finding out the truth. Made it so much harder to separate actual leads from desperate cries for attention.

The two women knew that the police station Alex was working at would probably be as crowded as a bar on a Friday night so they opted for texting her to meet them outside. A cup of coffee and relative quiet so she could get a break form the huddle inside.

Nia and Kara didn't have to wait long in an alley near the station before the auburn haired woman showed up. Messy hair, the few crinkles in her shirt and the exasperated look on her face was enough to prove the blonde's suspicions about the situation right.

“Thank you”, she said thankfully as she accepted the coffee, “It's hell in there.”

“CatCo is pretty much the same.”, Kara said, giving her sister a comforting side hug so she didn't spill the coffee.

Relaxing into her embrace Alex closed her eyes for a blissful moment and took a couple of calming breaths.

When she was okay again the police officer straightened up and looked at her sister with a knowing look: “You want information so you can investigate yourself don't you?”

“You know me so well.”, the blonde grinned at her.

“The prison is swamped with all the police, media and hobby detectives so I'd advice you to not go there just yet. I can't share anything else since it's an open investigation. I will however tell you that blind spots are nasty things, especially when they keep you from seeing your favorite Chinese take out place while you are at work and just need a reason to keep on hustling to get that coin to pay for it.”

With that Alex winked at her and started to make her way back to the station.

“Tell Maggie I said hi!”, Kara shouted after her and then turned to Nia with a wide smile on her face, “You want to go and grab lunch?”

The Chinese take out place was basically just a booth in one of National City's less fortunate neighborhoods. There were less than a handful of tables inside since it had been originally meant to be a delivery only restaurant.

As the two reporters entered the small place Mrs. Chen, the owner of the establishment, greeted them warmly: “Kara! It's so nice to see you here again. I'll have the potstickers and your usuals out in a minute.”

“Thank you. You're the best.”, the blonde smiled at her and they took a seat.

She was a regular at this place and over the course of time Mrs. Chen and she had become friends. Kara always made friends easily due to her bubbly personality. Kindhearted and open were always two words everyone who met the blonde used to describe her.

When the food was out, Kara stopped her: “Can I ask you a question? About the intercepted prisoner transfer. One of my sources told me that they lost track of the bus in this area.”

“Alex huh?”, the woman smiled at her, “But I'm afraid that I can't help you. We closed up early last night.”

“That's fine. Thank you anyways and thank you for the food.”, she assured her.

“So that's a dead end”, Nia commented disappointed, “What's the plan now?”

“We'll find something else.”, she replied determined, “But first we need to re-fuel with this deliciousness.”

Happily the two friends dug in. They didn't talk much, both of them too immersed in their own thoughts and too focused on the food in front of them. Kara hadn't expected their first lead to actually pan out. However it was still a little bit frustrating. But she was a reporter, so there would be nothing that could deter her from her mission of finding out the truth.

After thanking Mrs. Chen again they existed the restaurant. Since they had no more leads they had decided that heading back to CatCo would probably be for the best.

Just as they crossed the street someone called after them. Turning around they were faced with a homeless man and his cute dog.

“Hey, I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. I didn't know you were still in this area of the city.”, Kara apologized to the man who she recognized. There had been many instances where she would help him out with a little change or a meal whenever she got something for herself at the Chinese place.

“You are a ray of sunshine.”, the man said and waived his hand to signal that it was okay that she didn't get him anything since she couldn't have known, “I was here last night though. I know you're a reporter so I thought that you would be interested in what I've witnessed.”

Eyes wide Kara urged him to go on.

“It wasn't an official transfer.”, he stated.

“How do you know?”, Nia and Kara simultaneously asked, confused by the insight.

“I've seen my fair share of prisoner transfers in my time in this city. They usually use their prison busses. Last night however it didn't look like a transfer at all. It must have been a private company or just something even more dodgy. It was a black van. No logo or anything at all.”

Back at CatCo Nia and Kara immediately dove into the internet in search of clues on black vans and on how the information that it had been a prisoner transfer had gotten out in the first place. The office was still as busy as in the morning. No one able to find anything concrete that could develop into a real lead.

So far the only information that had been discovered was that if the transfer hadn't gone wrong no one would have ever known about it. Since it hadn't gone as planned though, there had been an uproar at the prison itself. Apparently one of the prisoners that had gone missing last night had smuggled a phone with him that he had promised to use when he got to the location. He had never called and that had started a riot fueled by fear and the uncertainty of what had been planned for the people on that bus. The prison couldn't keep it quiet and by morning the outside world had somehow gotten wind of it. Nevertheless that remained the only discovery of the day. Neither the media nor the police nor civilians had found something solid. 

Day had turned into night and the atmosphere at CatCo was even more dire than at the start of the day. Tomorrow meant that everybody had to work even harder. The public demanded answers and no one would rest until they had those.

Kara woke up before her alarm went off, probably because of her nervousness. Today would be her first day at the university in Metropolis. She had opted to move to Metropolis instead of National City because of the connectedness that came with having two lives. Being in the same city but with two different dynamics had messed her up as a child and then as a teenager. Sure Alex was always by her side and she had some people she was friends with in both of them. However seeing them date other people in each or just be different towards her had gnawed at her. So not living in the same city gave her more of a feeling of belonging to each life.

A banging at her door made her turn off the alarm that had still to ring and opened the door of her single dorm room. 

Alex stood in front of her, arms slung over her girlfriends shoulders. It was still weird to see her with Kelly in this life and with Maggie in the other. But she was happy with both of them so that was all that mattered.

She herself had never really dated. There had been a couple of people she had seen casually, however being in a committed relationship had never felt right. Kara didn't like the fact that she would date someone in one life, while she was just acquaintances with them in the other. Sure she could also have two different relationships, but that felt an awful lot like cheating.

“Hey guys. What are you doing here?”, she asked them a little bit confused on why the couple was paying her a dorm visit.

Kelly was a professor for psychology at Metropolis University and the two of them had met the previous year when the auburn haired woman had decided to not go to National City. Her reason being that when Kara moved here too she would also be around. Alex was in law enforcement as well though. Some things never changed in different lives she guessed. It suited her sister and she was glad that her strong sense of doing what's right and to protect the people around her was such a core quality that nothing seemed to be able to change that.

“Well I asked your sister to take her day off so the three of us could grab breakfast before your first classes start.”, Kelly explained and kissed her girlfriend affectionately on the cheek.

“Just let me get changed real quick.”, the blonde said and let them enter as she got dressed in the outfit she had laid over her desk chair the previous night.

On the way over to the coffee shop Alex and Kelly announced their plan for a weekly game night at their place. This way they would get to see each other on a regular basis and no one had to worry about cancelling any other plans during the rest of the days of the week.

It warmed Kara's heart to know that her sister would always be there for her. That she cared so much about their relationship and would always find a way to support her when the complicatedness of the blonde's burden brought her down. Her sister, in Metropolis and National City, would always distract her by making the blonde tell her about funny stories about the Alex in Kara's other life. Intimate details, like her dating life, were off limits of course since it would make her sister only question things. But other than that she gladly told her about the other sister. It brought them closer and always worked as a distraction from her troubled thoughts.

“So Kara, have you had the chance to go to one of the beginning of the semester parties yet?”, Kelly asked her genuinely interested.

The two of them got along well. It hadn't taken them a long time to form a friendship and Kara saw how good she was for Alex.

“Not yet, but I plan to go to one tonight. I missed a few already so I think if I want to make friends and not be a loner for my first semester here I need to get out there.”, she replied as she took a sip from her cup.

“Well you know that you have to watch out that nobody slips something in your drink right? And if you ever need anything I'm only a call away.”, Alex, ever the protective sister, said.

“Yeah I know, but I'll be careful.”, Kara smiled at her.

“That's all I ask.”

“Being careful is important. However it's also important that you have fun.”, Kelly smiled, squeezing Alex's hand in reassurance and support.

“I just hope I find someone I like. I'm shy when it comes to parties where I don't know anyone.”, she admitted.

“You're the most lovable person there is Kara.”, her sister gave her a smile.

After this the conversation drifted to more casual topics and then it was time for Kara to go. Her first class was about to start and she didn't want to be late for that.

Classes had been interesting and the blonde had even made a friend. His name was Winn and after a few awkward attempts by both parties they had decided to go to the party together. Winn was adorable and after their initial stumbles they had actually gotten along splendidly.

She would meet him downstairs in front of her dorm apartment in a couple of minutes so she applied the last of her make up and looked at herself in the mirror. Kara had kept her make up natural and her blonde her fell down in slight waves. Her blue dress accentuated her ocean eyes and the pink lipstick complimented her choice of outfit well.

Picking up her phone she left the apartment. There were no people on the sidewalk and she closed her eyes for a second. Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself.

When she felt the presence of someone she opened her eyes again. To her surprise though she wasn't faced with Winn, but with what was probably the most beautiful human being she had ever laid eyes on. Pale skin, a jawline and cheek bones that could probably cut paper and brilliant green eyes that were sparkling with amusement. The girl's eye brow was raised in a questioning manner and a smile tucked at the corners of her dark red lips.

Kara's mouth fell open and her heart rate picked up. It must have looked strange with the way she was standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk with her eyes closed and an embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks.

“Hi”, she was quick to start rambling, feeling self-conscious by the situation, “I didn't see you there. I mean obviously because I had my eyes closed...”

Kara trailed off, biting her lip in an attempt to stop the waterfall of words falling from her lips, her blush deepening.

Her rant seemed to have only intensified the amusement of the other girl. She was smiling now and the sight of it made the blonde's stomach flutter. Probably from the nerves and the embarrassment she was sure.

“Do you always meditate in the middle of the street?”, the girl questioned calmly, not commenting in her ranting which Kara was grateful for.

“Huh?”, the blonde was confused at first but then it clicked, “No, I don't really meditate. Running is more my thing to clear my head to be honest. I am joining the soccer team here. Might be a good way to compensate all the hours spent sitting in the lecture halls.”

Kara had no idea what possessed her to spit out random information to a stranger like this. Being super smooth had never been something she had mastered. However the clumsiness of this conversation was especially mortifying and under normal circumstances it would have made her wish that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. But her antics only drew out a chuckle from girl and somehow it made it all worth it.

Composing herself again she said: “I'm sorry. This must be super weird. I'm usually not this weird. I'm Kara by the way.”

“Lena.”, the girl replied, a smile still on her face, “And don't worry about it. This has been the best thing that happened to me today.”

It was genuine and the tension left the blonde's body. It surprised her and the flutter from earlier was back again. There was something about Lena that relaxed Kara, made her feel reassured instead of exposed.

“Well in that case I can admit that this awkwardness is one of my most charming qualities.”, she said with a smile, a little bit more confident now.

“Are you trying to charm me?”, Lena asked, something flickering in her eyes that the blonde couldn't put a finger on.

She knew that the comment was supposed to throw her off, but she couldn't help turning beet red again.

“You're messing with me.”, Kara mumbled, looking at the ground in a desperate attempt to hide her red face, even though it was probably glowing bright red in the dark nonetheless.

Lena was grinning widely now: “I am and your reaction didn't disappoint.”

The blonde couldn't think of a come back to that so she opted for sending her a glare which only resulted in another chuckle form the brunette. They stood there for a while in a comfortable silence, eyes locked. It seemed like neither of them wanted to break their gaze.

Suddenly a group of roaring guys passed them and the two girls were brought back to reality. This time Kara wasn't the only one blushing.

“Well I need to get going. Judging from your outfit I assume that you're going to a party?”, Lena asked her, letting her eyes wander over the blonde's body.

“Yeah, my friend should be here any minute. We're going to the party happening in one of the houses across campus. Where are you headed?”

Kara hoped that she didn't seem too eager to know what the plans of the brunette were for tonight. There was this strange pull inside her that wanted her to be close to the girl.

“My friends convinced me to pre-game with them. We haven't decided to which party we're going tonight, but maybe we'll stop by at the one you're going to.”, Lena replied.

“I guess I'll see you around then?”, there was hope in the blonde's voice and she nervously ran her fingers through her hair.

“Maybe. It was really nice to meet you Kara.”

“You too Lena.”

With that the brunette started to walk away, Kara looking after her. Never would she have believed that a simply interaction could leave her breathless, but here she was. Awestruck by this girl. She really hoped that she would see her again soon.

Her reverie was broken by Winn who apologized for being a bit late. Somehow she was glad that he had been. Maybe if he hadn't she wouldn't have had the chance to meet Lena and despite the shortness of their conversation she felt like it would have been a loss.

The party was already in full spate. The smell of alcohol and sweat welcomed them as they entered the house and the floor already looked like the party was over, considering all the cups and empty bags of chips that covered the floor, but the amount of people said otherwise. Music let the air and the ground vibrate and Kara had to shout over the noise to make sure that Winn understood her.

“You want to go grab a drink? I think we're both too sober right now.”

As she said the words she had to think back to Lena again. How she had told her that she would pre-game with her friends and now it made sense why pre-gaming was such a common thing to do before one went to a party.

“Sure.”

The two made their way through the crowd, gently pushing bodies so they could reach the kitchen that was just as full as the rest of the place. Winn grabbed two bottled of beer and handed the blonde one.

It looked like neither of them knew how to act. If they should try to have a serous conversation over the music, drink in silence or approach other people. Before they could make a decision though, a guy made his way over to the two.

“Hey, you guys look like you need something a little stronger than that beer. Or just a lot more of it.”, he said with a grin, “I'm Brainy. Well it's a nick name but I like it so I go by it.”

“I'm Kara and that's Winn.”, she introduced themselves and clinked her bottle against his glass in a way of greeting.

“Are you interested in playing a game called beer pong? My friend and I are looking for worthy opponents.”, Brainy continued to grin at them.

“Oh I don't know”, Winn's eyes went wide in horror, “I'm not the best at throwing things with accuracy.”

The guy laughed: “Well if you lose it'll get you buzzed and that's never something bad. What do you say?”

He was looking at Kara now.

“We're in.”, she said, leaning closer to her friend to whisper in his ear, “Don't worry, I got us.”

They followed their new acquaintance to the beer pong table where the previous game was just about to come to an end. The losing team looked more than slightly buzzed and if it weren't for one guy making jokes and lightening the mood the blonde was sure a fight would have started.

“This is Jack.”, Brainy said, patting the guy who was making jokes on the back.

“Hi, you're going to play against us?”, Jack gave them a warm smile.

After the game was done and they had gotten to know Brainy and Jack a little better it was their turn. Winn really wasn't kidding when he said that he was not good at this. Luckily for them Kara definitely knew how to shoot the ping pong ball. Brainy was moderately good while Jack was acing most of his shots. He blamed his excessive partying and commended the effort his team mate and Winn put into the game.

Each team had only one cup left now and it was both Kara's and Jack's turn to throw.

“Dare I say that this is going to be the battle of titans?”, Jack smirked at her.

“You may be a titan, but I'll be a goddess and we both know how that war ended.”, the blonde fired back with a smug grin on her face.

“Damn, someone knows her history. But let's see if you're not all talk now when it comes down to it.”, he was quick to respond.

“To make it fair let's do it on three.”, she smiled.

“You're on. One. Two. Three.”

Looking each other in the eyes, competitiveness visible in both their orbs they shot their shots. Winn was holding his breath besides her and Kara sent up a quick prayer.

They won.

“Nicely played.”, Jack congratulated them, “You want to go grab something other than beer maybe?”

She nodded and the group of four made their way back into the kitchen. The game had been super fun and if Kara was being honest she felt like Winn and her had just made two new friends. Jack's playfulness was refreshing and Brainy seemed to be one of the nicest guys she had ever met.

Even though her sister had told her that she was the most lovable person she knew this morning, the blonde still couldn't believe that the night had turned out the way it had. Three new and incredibly friend she couldn't wait to share her university experience with.

Jack mixed them Gin Tonics and they continued their light chatter. It was easy to talk to them and Kara was enjoying herself.

When Jack's eyes went wide in surprise the blonde followed his gaze to the entrance that was only party visible from where they were standing.

Lena, the girl she had met earlier tonight, had just entered the house with a couple of friends. A brown haired girl with a large tattoo and a red dress was standing next to her, wrinkling her nose at the sight displayed in front of them. She turned to Lena, tipping her chin up with one of her fingers and gave her a lingering kiss.

Kara's stomach dropped and she felt uneasy. The blonde didn't know why this action just made her feel weird inside. It wasn't like she really knew the brunette, or that she was even friends with her. But to see her with the girl in the red dress unsettled her.

“You know Lena?”, she asked Jack instead, pushing whatever she was feeling aside.

“Childhood friends. How do you know her?”, he asked surprised.

“We met earlier today.”

Winn looked excited and star struck from Jack to Kara and then back again.

Narrowing her eyes in confusion she asked him: “Why do I feel like I should know who she is?”

Winn's baffled look made Brainy and Jack laugh out loud and the latter filled her in: “She and her girlfriend Veronica Sinclair are kind of a big deal around here. Rich and successful parents and Lena Luthor is said to be a genius. Which I can definitely say is correct.”

Luthor. That name rung a bell. Luthor Corp was a leading company in technology as far as Kara was concerned. Working at CatCo in her other life she had crossed paths with the company before. Not personally but work related wise. A lot of her colleges tried to get interviews but were always denied. Only open press conferences that Luthor Corp themselves suggested were a way for the media to get quotes and detailed information. In the life she was in now she had only read a couple of articles. Nevertheless she had been impressed by each revelation about the company and it's achievements.

Kara looked back to the brunette and their eyes locked. A smile spread across the blonde's features and Lena mirrored her expression. Tucking on her girlfriend's hand she made her way over to the group of four.

Before they reached them she overheard Veronica saying: “I don't know why you insisted on coming here. We could have gone to a more upscale party.”

That made Kara's heart skip a beat. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but a small part of her hoped that Lena had convinced them to come here because she knew that Kara would be here.

“Jack!”, the brunette's girlfriend greeted the guy with a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Veronica”, he said with no emotion in his voice, “Lena. It's so good to see you.”

He engulfed her in a long hug.

“Figures you'd be here.”, the brunette playfully teased him and then her eyes found the blonde again, “Kara, I see you found good company.”

There was a bright smile on Lena's face and Veronica narrowed her eyes at their interaction.

“I did. I'm glad you decided to stop by.”, she smiled back.

As the night progressed she played a couple more games of beer pong, eventually teaming up with Jack while Brainy and Winn were too preoccupied talking about science. She didn't see much of Lena after their encounter in the kitchen, Veronica dragging her away to socialize with their friends whenever the two of them were about to start a meaningful conversation. It annoyed the hell out of Kara, but she didn't want to cause any drama on her first night out so she let it go. At least she had gotten the brunette's phone number and they had made plans to hang out some time.

When she got back to her dorm room, the blonde was kind of drunk but happy. It had been a good day. The blonde changed into her pajamas and as laid down in her bed she had a dreamy smile on her face. She was looking forward to spending more time with her new-found friends.

But first she had to find new leads on the intercepted prisoner transfer in her other life.

Closing her eyes an image of familiar green eyes appeared and as she drifted into a slumber. It almost felt like the green eyes stayed with her for a while. Not that that was possible. She didn't have normal dreams after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's giving this story a shot. I love writing it and in this chapter we're diving more into the respective storylines. I hope I can update once a week, so bear with me. Also a big thank you to belizafryler for beta reading this one :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one!

When Kara woke up it was still dark outside. It was a mystery to her why she had woken up at such an ungodly hour. Sure she was excited to dive back into investigating the prisoner transfer since her job was one of her priorities, but a good night's sleep was definitely up there too.

But as she was starting to regain full mental capability, her body and mind no longer clouded by sleep, she knew why. Something like this only happened when more of her tattoo became visible. 

The blonde always dreaded that moment, it reminded her that time was running out. A countdown on her life and how she would live it. Simply going on about her days was more comfortable. The voice at the back of her mind was still there of course, however it was faded.

Wincing, as if she were in physical pain, Kara got up and walked over to her bathroom mirror. Turning on the lights she angled herself in a way that she could see the reflection of her back. Slowly she pulled her shirt up so that her defined back was bare.

Before last night there had been a semicircle, reaching from her right shoulder blade to the left. Now it had become a full circle. It was roughly the size of her hand, if she were to spread her fingers apart and make it as big as possible.

With a sharp intake of breath the blonde let her shirt cover the tattoo up again and pressed her fingers to her temple. The tattoo had never spread this fast. The first few dots had started to appear once she had had the capacity to understand what was going on. That meant around elementary school. Now she was 20 years old and what had taken over a decade had now appeared over one night.

It was troubling to say the least. Something must have changed. There had to be something that had triggered it to spread faster. But Kara couldn't think of a single thing that could have been the cause of this. 

She would have to talk to Alex about this. Maybe her sister could help her figure out what this meant. Kara had never expected to live 40 years and then have to decide, but to face the possibility of having to come to a conclusion in the next couple of years terrified her. She wasn't ready. She had no idea which reality she belonged in, nor was she ready to leave one life behind.

Kara got her phone and sent Alex a quick text, asking if she was free to meet up tonight after work.

After checking the time, the blonde decided that it was way too early to head to the office and decided to go for a run. That always helped her to get her mind off of things and she desperately needed that right now.

The air was crisp due to the early hour and she slightly shivered. Pushing play on her phone she started to jog in a rather fast pace. If she wanted to forget about her worries for a while there was no way a mediocre pace would help.

The music was blaring in her ears, but she didn't mind. In combination with her fast pace it almost felt like the music was able to fill her mind completely. 

But only almost. As she jogged through one of the city's parks and her mind was starting to calm down the blonde was hit with somewhat of a flashback. Green eyes sparkling with amusement. Kara had told Lena last night that running always helped her clear her mind.

And suddenly all she could think about was Lena Luthor. The way she smiled at her and had found her awkward rambling cute. The curve of her dark red lips and how she had made Kara feel so many things. She had been so giddy around her and she distinctly remembered the strange feeling she had gotten whenever they had locked eyes.

The blonde had never felt what she had felt in the presence of the dark haired beauty and if she was being honest with herself it made her feel excited and scared at the same time. Because of the life she lead, the blonde had never let herself become too attached to someone. Except for Alex of course. Sure, she loved her friends, but she was always careful to not fully let them in. But now there was Lena and Kara couldn't put her finger on the emotion welling up inside her chest.

Panting, she came to a stop. So much for a mind-clearing run.

After a quick shower Kara headed to work. Alex had texted her that she could come over once her shift was done and they could have a sisters-night-in. Relief had rushed through her at that and she was ready to focus on the task at hand.

Nia arrived just moments after her, two coffees in her hand.

“There you go,” her best friend greeted her with a warm smile, passing her one of the two cups, “Have you come up with a new strategy?”

“As a matter of fact I did,” the blonde reporter grinned, “I don't know how we didn't think of it yesterday. The black van must have come from somewhere right? What if whoever did this got rid of it? There must be some kind of paper trail. Even if they kept it.”

Nodding slowly the brunette sat down, firing up her laptop and typing as soon as it was on. Kara had no idea what exactly her friend was doing, but her wondering was interrupted after a few seconds.

“I just looked up all the disposal sites in the city where you can get rid of a car. Luckily there are only three of them. What do you say, let's check them out?”

“Hell yes.”

It was another lead and Kara was excited to investigate and see where it would lead them. She had a good feeling about this. There had been no news about the interception so apparently no one was talking about black vans. The two of them were at an advantage and the blonde fully intended to make use of that. Maybe she would tell her sister later today, the police had other resources and they deserved to be informed about possible leads. But for now she would handle this with Nia.

Naturally, the first two disposal sites didn't pan out and the blonde was feeling a bit discouraged. However they still had one left and she would be damned if she gave up hope now.

This one was farther away from the city than the other two. The area was kind of abandoned. There was nothing for a couple of miles and as they entered the site there was nobody in sight.

“Surely there must be someone who works here...”, Nia muttered. 

The crease forming on her forehead told the blonde that her friend was feeling uncomfortable being here. Kara couldn't blame her though. There was something shady about this place. But shady meant that they could be in the right place, so the blonde pushed those thoughts aside, focusing on finding another human being.

The reporters wandered around for a couple of minutes. There were mountains of crushed cars and all kinds of metals. They towered over them and cast long shadows in the sun. The air was filled with a weird smell and the occasional creaking made them slightly jump every time.

“I don't like this.”, the brunette admitted, checking her phone every few seconds to reassure herself that she still got a signal should something go south.

“Me neither,” Kara agreed, “But we came all this way, I'm not going to turn around now.”

Alex often called the blonde's curiosity a curse. Her older sister didn't like the fact that she would often investigate without backup and no gun. But the reporter didn't like guns and always told her sister that she could take care of herself and should she ever feel endangered she would call her.

When they rounded another corner they saw a man sitting in the chair of a machine, casually smoking a cigarette and paying attention to his phone.

“Hi!”, Kara approached the man, forcing herself to smile in the brightest way possible.

Irritated by the sound the man looked up form his screen. He was in his early fifties, thin greyish hair and had a scowl on his face.

“What do you girls want?”, he scoffed, obviously less than pleased to have to engage in human interaction.

“We were wondering if we could ask you a couple of questions.”, Nia was the one to reply.

“I don't talk to reporters.”, he stated, flicking his cigarette butt on the ground and crushing it with his feet when he jumped off the machine.

Kara knew there was no use in trying to convince him that they weren't reporters so she tried to make the best out of the situation.

“Look I get it. No one likes the media, but promise that this won't take up a lot of your time.”

“Listen lady,” he was starting to get angry, “I told you that I'm not talking to the press so leave me alone. You're trespassing anyways.”

Nia could see the determination flash in the blue eyes of her friend so she tugged on her sleeve, whispering: “Don't. Just let it go, we'll find another way.”

Behind the man she could make out what was left of what must have been a black van. There was no way she was going to let this go. Not when they were finally so close to find something out. Whoever chose this disposal site knew that the man wouldn't talk. She was sure he had gotten a nice sum of money as well to keep his mouth shut. 

If Kara would go to Alex with this she knew that the police wouldn't be able to do anything about this. There was not enough evidence to support a warrant. Right now was her shot and the blonde was not going to waste it just because there was a grumpy old man standing between her and what she wanted.

“You don't have to show us your records,” Kara tried, “We just want to take a look around the site.”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Not asking him to show records was an attempt to let them look around unsupervised. There must be something left in the remainders of the van and if they could just get close enough, they might be able to find something.

“I'll be in my office. Don't you dare try to sneak past me, I'll be keeping watch.”, he finally said and left them alone.

“That was easier than expected.”, the blonde said in surprise.

“Well I think he's confident that we won't find anything in this pile of trash,” Nia shrugged, “And we both know we'd have to be extremely lucky to prove his assumption wrong.”

Kara knew that her best friend was right, but that didn't deter them to crouch down next to the ball of metal. They started to go around it, inspecting every inch of it in hopes of finding something that could amount to a lead.

Over half an hour passed and there was nothing to be found. Frustrated by this the blonde kicked what was left of the van and stormed off. She just wanted to get out of this place and head home. She wanted to see Alex and rant about the crappy day she had. Tell her about Lena and how worried she was about the evolvement of the tattoo on her back.

“Wait,” Nia called after her and the blonde turned around, “There's something!”

Kara all but rushed back to where she was standing just moments before, asking: “What is it?”

The brunette had picked up a small piece and grinned widely.

“Take a look at this,” she said and handed the piece over to Kara.

It was smaller than her sisters police badge, but she prayed that it would be enough. It looked almost like a card, or a badge or a name tag considering there was a part of what the blonde assumed to be a letter. There was no way to tell really. Still it sparked hope inside her.

Pocketing the evidence Nia and Kara left the disposal site. The air around them felt lighter, both of them feeling a little bit victorious. They made a really good team.

The sun was already down when Kara heard a knock on her door. When she opened it Alex was holding up two bags of take-out food and she didn't look as tired as the day before.

“I thought you might be hungry.”, her sister smiled at her as she entered the apartment.

“You know that I'm always hungry.”, the blonde grinned happily and sat down on the couch next to the auburn haired woman.

The two sisters never bothered getting plates for their take-out and always opted for eating it right out of the boxes. That way there was no time wasted that they could have spent indulging in the food and Kara didn't have to do the dishes afterwards. The blonde didn't have a dishwasher so that was a tremendous advantage whenever she didn't cook for herself.

“So what's up?”, Alex finally asked when they had settled down and each of them had their respective food boxes.

Deciding to start with the new evidence she said: “Nia and I found the disposal site of the black van that was used to transport the prisoners. I thought you might be able to do more with it than we can at CatCo.”

Alex was so surprised by that that she almost choked to death on the egg roll she was eating: “What? How do you know any of this?!”

“I found a witness and just followed the trail.”, Kara smiled sheepishly.

“Oh my god. That is amazing! But why didn't you tell me this as soon as you found out?”, she wanted to know.

“Well I just thought I could save you some time until I had something solid.”, the blonde shrugged and stood up to get the piece Nia had found.

As she handed the evidence over to Alex, the woman inspected it immediately.

“This is the best thing we've gotten so far Kara. Thank you.”

“You're very welcome,” the reporter grinned and added, “But I expect you to keep me in the loop. I know that I can be of more help.”

Her sister shook her head with a small smile: “Of course you do. I can't promise anything, you know that, but I will try my best to return this favor. We always make a good crime-fighting duo.”

Happy with the answer the blonde munched on her food. There was still the issue of her tattoo that she wanted to discuss with Alex. And then there was also Lena who she hadn't gotten out of her head all day long.

“What's bothering you?”, her sister asked, sensing that the evidence wasn't the only reason she was here.

“I don't want to freak you out,” she started and knew immediately that that was the wrong way to go judging from the alarming look Alex had on her face.

“My tattoo. It got so much bigger.”

Kara was nibbling on her lower lip. Worried how her sister would react to what had shocked her this morning. Alex was always concerned for her. For good reason, but at the same time the blonde didn't want to unload to much of her burden on her. This was her cross to carry, however much the support of her sister helped.

“Show me.”

When she did she heard a gasp from behind: “Kara. How is this possible?”

“I have no idea. I don't even think I had a dream.”, she admitted and all the joy she had felt earlier when she had discovered something about the prisoner transfer interception was gone.

“You think or you know?”, Alex pressed.

Kara closed her eyes, agonizing over the fact that she wasn't sure if the familiar green eyes had been part of her dream or not. It wasn't possible for it to have been a part of her dream right? She had thought about Lena so much before she had gone to bed that the more logical explanation was that it had been her last thought before falling asleep.

“I know.”, she finally settled on an answer.

Still her long silence hadn't gone unnoticed by Alex: “What are you not telling me?”

“I met someone.”

Her sisters eyes went wide. Kara had told her about crushes and short-lived flings, but the blonde had never said that she had 'met someone'. Alex knew that her sister was careful with her heart and for her to say something like that indicated that that person was significant to her already.

When the auburn haired woman stayed silent the reporter continued: “Her name is Lena. The way we met is kind of hilarious to be honest.”

And with that Kara told her sister everything that had happened the day before. She didn't miss out on any details and a wide smile was on her face all the way through. It only wavered when she got to the part of Lena having a girlfriend. But other than that happiness radiated off her face.

Alex's featured softened once the blonde was done.

“Seems like you like her a lot.”, she smiled affectionately.

“I do.”, the blonde grinned, looking at the ground to hide the small blush that crept onto her face, “I can't wait to see her again.”

“You're adorable when you have a crush.”, Alex laughed loudly.

“I don't have a crush on her!”, Kara exclaimed as if the idea was preposterous and hadn't crossed her mind at all.

“Right,” her sister continued to laugh, “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Of course the blonde knew that she was right. However there was the fact that Lena was taken and Kara wasn't going to be a home-wrecker. She was content with being friends with the dark haired girl. That was enough for her. It had to be. For more than one reason.

When Alex decided it was late enough to call it a night and had hugged the reporter good-bye she turned around one last time: “If you have any dreams or the tattoo continues to grow faster than it has in the past please tell me. We'll figure this out.”

“I will,” Kara nodded, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She was a little hungover when she woke up and she cursed herself for drinking so much when she had classes today. Drinking a cold glass of water with an Aspirin she got dressed in comfortable clothes and left her dorm room to get to her first lecture of the day.

Winn was in a couple of the classes she was in and to her pleasant surprise so was Jack. The guy had wormed his way into her heart with his jokes and friendly attitude. The blonde was glad she had gone out last night and was even happier about it once her hungover had vanished.

Lena wasn't in any of her classes and despite not wanting to feel disappointed by that her heart had sunk once she learned about it. It still baffled her how much she craved to see the brunette again. She had literally met her yesterday and hadn't gotten her off her mind. Alex's assumption that she had a crush on her ringed in her ears and she tried her best to push that possibility aside.

However when Kara headed over to her first soccer practice she decided that she would text the girl and ask her if she wanted to hang out after.

As she entered the locker room she got a little nervous. She was a good soccer player, she knew that, having been one of the star players at her old school. But the blonde didn't know anyone on the team and the need to prove herself weighed on her.

A lot of the players seemed to already know each other pretty well and that only contributed to the intimidation she felt rising inside. Coming into a team that was already used to each other, was aware of their running routes and how they played was always difficult.

Steeling herself and straightening her shoulders she walked out onto the pitch. The sun was still shining and the coach was waiting for everyone to gather around in a circle to announce what they would be doing for this training session.

After a couple of laps as a warm up, they were divided into pairs of two and asked to just pass the ball. It was an easy drill and was probably one of the coach's methods to see if they had simple ball control.

“You're new right?”, the girl that Kara was paired up with asked her with a friendly smile.

The blonde had seen her joke around earlier so it was probably save to assume that she had been part of the team for at least a semester more.

“Yeah. I'm Kara.”, she introduced herself.

“Sam,” the brunette grinned back at her.

Being paired with Sam turned out to be the best thing about practice today. The girl was funny, extremely talented and so genuinely welcomed Kara with open arms that by the end of it the two were exchanging phone numbers so the blonde could be added to the group chat and would be able to join the team whenever they went out.

Kara had impressed everyone with her skills and her stamina on the pitch. She was a born midfielder and played well in a team. Her passes had gotten to the right person with shocking accuracy and after 15 minutes of the last half an hour practice game she had vaguely known the usual routes of her team mates.

Joining the soccer team had been the right call and only after two days at campus the blonde had met so many nice people that looking back she didn't even know what she was so nervous about at the start. University was different than high school. Everyone seemed to be more open-minded and since a lot of people weren't from the area they knew what it was like to be thrown into new surroundings. Their understanding formed the basis of their welcoming approach to newcomers and created an amazing atmosphere.

Before Kara went into the showers she checked her phone to see if a certain girl had replied to her.

“Sure. I'll pick you up after your practice ends?”

She almost dropped her phone at that. The only clothes she could change into were the ones she had been wearing all day. But then again she shouldn’t be so worried about that since she didn't want to impress her new friend right?

Kara had never showered so quickly in her life and when she exited the locker room she was met with Lena patiently waiting for her outside, leaning casually against a wall and looking at her phone.

When the brunette looked up a smile spread across her face: “Kara. Hey.”

Lena was wearing jeans and a green sweater that accentuated her eyes. Her make up was natural and to the blonde she had never looked more beautiful.

“Hey Lena. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long.”, she replied, self-consciously running her fingers through her still slightly damp hair.

“Not really. I was glad that you texted me.”

“You were?”

There was really no reason why this came out so hopeful.

“Of course,” the brunette shook her head as if anything else would be ridiculous.

That boosted the blonde's confidence and she forgot all about how her face must still be red from all the running around and how her appearance altogether must look a bit exhausted.

“Since we don't have any papers to write just yet, I thought I'd seize the opportunity to spend some more time with you. We didn't really get the chance last night so what better day than today.”, Kara finally smiled back.

Lena chuckled: “Yeah sorry about that again. Veronica can be a bit demanding at times.”

Veronica. Kara had almost forgotten about the brunette's girlfriend for a second. Falling into step with the dark haired girl they started to walk in no particular direction, just content to be with the other.

“How did you guys get together?”, she wanted to know.

“We went to the same boarding school and I guess just one thing let to another. Veronica was a bit of a player back then and at first I assumed to be just one of her many conquests. But when she asked me out time after time again I guess we just fell into a relationship.”, Lena told her casually.

Kara noticed how there was no excited nor a happy spark in the green orbs. She would have expected to see Lena be giddy about how things came to be and it struck her as strange when that wasn't the case. If she were in Veronica's shoes she would have made sure that Lena felt special from the very start. Even though they had just met, the blonde couldn't fathom how anyone could possibly see her as a simple conquest, someone to throw aside after one time.

“So in a way you're high school sweethearts?”, Kara opted to say instead, stealing a look at the girl walking besides her.

Lena caught her gaze though and held it: “Sweethearts sounds like something you'd say.”

It sounded cryptic and it didn't go unnoticed by the blonde that she had initially avoided answering her question.

“Why is that?”

“Because you're sweet. I probably have never met anyone who radiates so much warmth.”, Lena replied as her face softened, never once looking away from Kara's blue eyes.

And there it was again. The flutter in her chest that always appeared whenever she was around the brunette. This time though she didn't blush, she simply smiled back and fought the urge to intertwine their hands.

“So what do you want to do?”, Kara changed the topic, not ready to go any deeper into the subject matter.

“I'm glad you asked,” there was excitement audible in her voice and the way her eyes lit up sent another bolt of something through the blonde, “I wanted to show you one of my favorite spots on campus.”

Kara didn't expect to end up in a science lab of the university. If she was being honest she didn't even know that they had one in a building a bit away from where everything else was.

When they had first entered the building, it hadn't looked like much. It was more run down than the others and a lot of the rooms seemed to be permanently unoccupied. The lab itself however was state of the art. The windows reached down to the floor and provided them with an astonishing view. Since they were higher up they could see most of the campus. The patches of green between the concrete made it look like a miniature Central Park with the big city in the background. Of course it could be that Kara was exaggerating in her mind when she thought of that, but to her it had the same breathtaking effect.

“This is beautiful.”, the blonde whispered as if she was afraid that speaking any louder could shatter the serenity she felt up there standing next to her new friend.

“I'm glad you like it,” Lena said with a lowered voice as well.

There was something about the way the brunette appeared to be more relaxed up here. Her shoulders were less tense and her features were softened.

“How did you find this place?”, she asked her.

“It was after about three weeks. I was swamped with assignments and just felt like I needed a place where I could just be me for a while. With no one around. An entire place to myself and my thoughts. It was pure luck that I stumbled upon this building. The university wanted to shut it down with no plans what to put in it's place.”

There was sadness in her voice and Kara held her breath. This was personal and it surprised the blonde how Lena was opening up to her. She felt honored and watched her featured intently. There were various emotions flashing in her eyes before the blonde could see her put her guards up again. Lena's demeanor changed and it almost looked like she was shocked by how much she had just shared. Despite wanting to know more, Kara knew that she shouldn't push. If Lena wanted to tell her more, she would in her own time.

Kara stepped closer, gently giving Lena's hand a squeeze and said earnestly: “Thank you for bringing me here.”

The dark haired girl turned her head so she could face the blonde. Kara's blue eyes displayed the honesty about her statement and told her that she was grateful for the story shared, but she wouldn't push her to elaborate any more than she had. When she wanted to let go of Lena's hand again, the other girl tightened her grip just slightly.

Being in a place that meant so much to the brunette personally and having her hold her hand made Kara's heart clench. Ever since she had met Lena she felt somehow connected to her on some deeper level. She had no idea how it was possible and how only the presence of another person could even make her feel at peace was beyond her. But here she was, standing hand in hand with the girl that had come out of nowhere and had already made her feel so much better. When she was with Lena she forgot how lost she felt most of the times. How the clock was ticking down and she was on the verge of losing the life as she had known it. With Lena by her side she was living in the moment and nothing else existed.

The brunette was the one who broke them out of their reverie: “So what about you? Did you have a special place in your hometown? When you weren't running round as meditation that is.”

The reference to the conversation they had had when they first met was endearing and the smirk that Lena gave her reminded her how embarrassed she had been when she had rambled on and on about completely unnecessary details of her personality.

“Well,” the blonde grinned, “I do love my running around as you so kindly put it. But I did have a spot like this. I grew up in a pretty rural area, especially compared to Metropolis.”

Kara had to stop herself before she mentioned National City. It scared her how easily that would have slipped her tongue.

“There was this small forrest behind our house. As a kid I used to love climbing as high as I could, and I have to admit that there were one or two instances where Alex had to show up and rescue me because I was too afraid to come back down, but one day I found a clearing. It was peaceful and quiet and you could see so many stars from there. It was beautiful and it sort of became my favorite spot.”

Thinking back she smiled fondly. Despite her burden she had loved her childhood. Her adoptive parents, Eliza and Jeremiah, as well as Alex had been as amazing as anyone could hope for.

“There's nothing better than a place you can call your own,” Lena agreed, “And who is your lifesaver Alex?”

At the mention of her sister Kara lit up: “She's my older sister. Adoptive sister that is. I seriously love her so much. We had our difficulties at the beginning, but she soon developed into my biggest supporter and I have no idea what I would do without her.”

A strange look flashed over the brunette's face.

“You're also adopted?”

“Oh,” that explained the look and Kara almost winced at the dark shadow that laid over Lena's face. It seemed like there was a lot to the dark haired girl that caused her unhappiness and she felt for her, wished she could do anything to ease her troubles.

“Well, on a lighter note,” the blonde yet again steered the conversation away from a topic that the brunette didn't seem to be comfortable talking about, “I don't think I'll find a forrest with a clearing here so I really do appreciate you showing me this.”

“You're welcome,” there was still uneasiness written over her face, but it was overpowered by something that resembled astonishment.

From that their conversation got lighter. They talked about Kara's soccer practice and their classes. About Jack and his most embarrassing faux pas and about how Brainy got his nickname in the first place. That story was hilarious and had Kara laughing for a couple minutes straight.

Brainy was beyond smart and had had that reputation at school. He hadn't been a social outcast, but interacting with people hadn't come easy to him as well. Jack, who Kara loved even more after this story, had been a popular kid and after being tutored by Brainy he had gotten close to they guy. They had become good friends and Jack had helped him with making new friends. Still he had been insecure and anxious about attending school events. One day, a couple of weeks before prom, Brainy had gotten another answer right in class and Jack had just shouted in a sing-song voice: “Brainy Baby do you want to go to prom with me?”

From that moment on Jack and Brainy had become a package-deal and the nickname had stuck.

It was easy to talk to Lena and time flew by. When the two of them realized that the sun had gone down hours ago they decided to head back home.

“Where do you live?”, Kara asked the brunette.

“A bit further away. I actually have an apartment off campus, but I have a car so you don't have to worry about me walking home alone in the dark.”

“In that case I insist on accompanying you to your car though.”, the blonde smiled.

“And have you walk home alone? I don't think so.”, Lena shot back with a smirk.

“I thought that we had established that I'm a great runner.”, Kara continued their banter, sending her a wink that was planned to lighten the mood some more. However Lena actually blushed at that and pride widened the blonde's smile.

“You convinced me.”, the brunette surrendered and lead the way to the parking lot.

Lena's car was an expensive black Audi R8.

“Well that's me.”

“Impressive ride.”, Kara commented, only now realizing that this was good-bye.

“It's a car.”, she laughed and leaned against the door, her face more serious now, “I just want to say thank you.”

“For what?”, the blonde was confused.

For a moment she thought that Lena was not going to elaborate on it, but she finally said: “I guess just for being you.”

She had said it so casually, but the profound meaning behind it struck a cord in her.

“Always. And should you be in need of another dosage of Kara you know where to find me.”

They hugged before Lena got into her car and the blonde made her way back to her dorm room. She only noticed how tired she was when she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, falling asleep in a matter of mere seconds.

Kara knew that she was having a dream. It always felt vivid, as if she were awake. The only difference was that she could literally sense time standing still. She had no idea how else to describe the sensation. There was something timeless about her dreams, like a time out in a game. Pressing pause before being thrown back in to make a play for victory.

Usually there was a voice, or a vision the blonde would see. Now though, she found herself in an oddly glowing place. It went on for miles and miles and she curiously looked around. As far as she could see she was alone.

So when she heard steps behind her she was startled, turning around in a flash and her breath got caught in her throat.

In front of her was another Kara. The other blonde seemed to feel tormented and was older and it dawned on her that she might become this if she failed.

“What do you want?”, Kara croaked out.

“To warn you about not making the same mistakes I did.”

She was so utterly confused. She had never encountered another version of herself and with the rapid development of her tattoo, this seemed to be another indication that things had changed. Something had made them change.

“The key will guide you home,” the other self simply continued, “To the place you knew all along.”

Anger rose in the blonde's chest: “Great! You can rhyme. Congrats. But what does that mean?!”

She knew that she was acting out of character. Kara rarely got angry, but the events from the morning of her tattoo discovery came crashing down on her. Alex's worried face and her lack of an explanation.

But the other Kara just looked at her with sadness swimming in her blue eyes, reaching out to touch her face. Before she could make contact though, a bold of energy shot through Kara's body.

And she was awake again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think and what theories you guys have :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me longer than usual, but here you go! The story is unfolding and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all the new developments :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!

To say that Kara woke up a tiny bit disturbed wouldn't even begin to cover it. She was bathed in sweat and her pulse was racing. Once again it was still dark outside and her alarm wouldn't ring for at least a couple of hours.

Going to the bathroom, the blonde decided that splashing water on her face wouldn't help enough so she went to take a cold shower. The icy water hammered down on her, making her shiver and her mind got clearer. She was usually someone who liked their water scalding hot, but today her special circumstances called for a change in her routine.

Kara didn't shower for long, the cold too uncomfortable to endure it for more than a couple minutes. She wrapped herself in a towel and patted back to her bed, sitting down and feeling calmer now.

Her dream made no sense. It had never been like that and the only positive thing about it had been that her tattoo hadn't expanded any more. To be faced with some sort of clone of herself had shocked the reporter. The duplicate had seemed so devastated, a far cry form the person the bubbly blonde actually was. Something grave must have happened to that version of herself. And the chances that that was that she hadn't figured out which reality she truly belonged in was almost a given. Considering she had said that Kara shouldn't make the same mistakes she did.

“The key will guide you home, to the place you knew all along.”, the blonde whispered into the dark.

It had been the first actual clue on how to figure out what the key was and it frustrated Kara that the phrase was so ambiguous. There were many ways to interpret the sentence that had been given to her. However there was none that lead to any expressive assertion.

For a second she considered texting or calling her sister again. But she didn't end up doing it, not wanting to worry Alex any more than she had last night. There was only so much she wanted to unload on the auburn haired woman. A dream with so many confusing elements was certainly not something she wanted to drop on her. Maybe it was dumb and discussing it would actually lead to something, but the blonde didn't want to take any chances. This was her problem, not her sister's.

She still had more than two hours before her alarm would go off and she felt too exhausted to go for another run. Kara contemplated to go back to sleep, but that always left her even more exhausted than before. Whenever she would dose off or try to take a nap during the day, where she wasn't supposed to change reality, her slumber would feel weird. As if she were sleeping and awake at the same time. She couldn't really put it into words, but that was the best description she had for it and was kind of symbolic too if she thought about it. Caught between two stages just like she was caught between two lives. It was stressful, not at all refreshing and sometimes she would even feel like she was seeing herself from the outside of her own body. One hell of a weird trip for sure and especially not something she wanted to actively trigger.

So the only options left were either to start watching something on Netflix or to go to work early. Nia wouldn't be in yet, probably no one would, but her mind was still racing from thought to thought so enjoying a series wouldn't really be in the cards as well.

“Fuck my lives,” Kara groaned in anguish and got dressed, “Work it is.”

At least work could maybe get her mind off of her own problems and direct her scattered focus on her investigation.

CatCo was barley lit. The cleaning crew had apparently just finished and the only lights that were on were in Cat Grant's office. Cat was the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. Kara hadn't expected her to be in this early though and it made her wonder if the woman ever slept.

The blonde reporter tried to just hush past the chief editor’s office, but luck wasn't on her side.

“Kiera!”, she heard the older woman say loudly from her office chair.

She had long given up on reminding Cat that her name wasn't actually Kiera, but Kara.

Fidgeting with her glasses she made her way into the office, opting to stand in front of the desk since Cat hadn't offered her to take a seat yet.

“What are you doing here so early?”, she questioned her, eye brow raised and pushing up her own glasses as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Thought I would get a head start on the day.”, the blonde's voice stated, voice slightly going up due to her insecurities.

“Is that a question Kiera?”, because of course Cat Grant would comment on that.

“No,” yet again her voice went up at the end of it and she forced herself to repeat it more surely, “No.”

“And could it be that this head start on the day, as you so eloquently put it, has something to do with the investigation of a story that has't been assigned to you?”

Kara's blue eyes went wide in surprise: “How do you know about that?”

Cat rolled her eyes: “Whose name is on the building?”

“That would be yours.”

“Exactly. Do you really think that I'm not aware of what every single employee of mine is doing at all times? I would be a terrible media mogul if that weren't the case.”, the older woman pointed out.

It was no secret that Cat ran a tight ship. But it still came as a surprise that she actually knew what Kara, someone at the bottom of the hierarchy, was doing. The blonde had assumed that no one would concern themselves with actions of someone that was so low on the food chain.

Before she replied Kara tried to read her boss. She didn't want to stop investigating, but at the same time she didn't want to lose her job. It felt like this was a test, like it often was with Cat Grant. However it was unclear what the right answer was.

Still, the blonde hadn't come this far to sit this one out now, so she said with more confidence than she actually had: “I made myself familiar with the story, I will continue to pursue it.”

That had the woman raise an eye brow, her eyes scanning over Kara in assessment. The blonde tried hard not to squirm under her stare, insecurities welling up again and threatening to destroy the confident stand she had at the moment.

Then Cat smiled: “I didn't think you had it in you.”

It was as close to a praise as anyone could get with the woman and Kara took the compliment happily, a relieved smile appearing on her features.

Cat appeared to have lost her interest in the conversation and just as Kara was about to turn around and leave her boss's office again, she heard her call out to her again, eyes still fixed on her laptop screen: “Kiera. I want to be informed as soon as you have something on the black van.”

And with that she was dismissed.

Finally at her own desk she sat down and fired up her computer. After finding out that Cat knew about her working on the story everyone in this city seemed to be working on, she was not surprised that the woman had also known about her discoveries. Kara had no idea how exactly she knew, but that was just Miss Grant for you.

Alex wouldn't have any lead at this moment in time and that left the blonde with nothing solid to go on. Still being at work was better than being cooped up alone in her small apartment. 

With nothing to do her mind started to wander to Lena. 

Yesterday had been amazing. The impact the beautiful brunette had on her never stopped to amaze her. She couldn't remember a time where her entire being had been consumed by another person. Whenever she was with the other girl she forgot about everything else in her life. Lena had her undivided attention and made her smile even wider than usual. The flutter in her chest and the indescribable connection she felt with the brunette left her craving her closeness whenever they were apart.

She had to fight the urge to look her up in this life. It was one of her many rules. Kara would not allow herself to Google someone she had met in her other reality. It felt morally wrong to do so. Sure, the people were often kind of alike in either life, but it felt like an invasion of privacy to snoop around.

Still, with Lena Luthor the blonde found herself wanting to break her own rules. There was just something about the dark haired girl that had Kara wanting to know as much as possible. Only knowing her in her life at university just wasn't enough. The blonde wanted to be able to see her in both. To be able to get to know her better as a person in both. Make her smile in both.

Kara was brought back to reality by an earthquake. The ground was shaking and everything on her desk was moving around, rattling as if it was going to break in two. Gripping at the armrest of her chair the blonde was just about to get under the desk to take cover when it stopped again.

It wasn't unusual that the earth shook, but her gut was telling her that something about this one was different. She stood up and walked over to one of the many windows of the building.

There was a purple glow in the distance and Kara squinted her eyes to make sense of it. But it was too far away to make out any details.

Without any hesitation the blonde reporter packed her things and left the building. She had to get a closer look at the purple glow. Her instincts told her that something as weird as this happening so close after the mysterious prisoner transfer could only be connected to it. And since she was already at the office and had just waited for any kind of lead, her chances to be one of the first ones at the scene were high.

It was further away than she liked, but due to the early hour the streets were rather empty and she managed to make the trip in half of the time it would have taken her in an hour time when rush hour would start.

Kara had been right to assume that she would be one of the first ones to get there. There were only a couple of people standing there, most of the onlookers the ones who lived in the buildings near it. They were pressing their noses to their windows, holding up phones to record the event.

What had seemed like a simple purple glow from the distance turned out to be some kind of force shield. It seemed to suffice as some kind of dome, covering and isolating a hug area of the city. The shield was gleaming intensely and inabled anyone to look through it. The brightness of it almost blinding and it reached further than the reporter could see from where she was standing.

Like in a haze, Kara got her phone out and snapped a few pictures, capturing the strange sight that was displayed in front of her. It made no sense to her. A force shield in the middle of the city? What did that have to do with the intercepted transfer? Were the two incidents even connected? And what was the purpose of all of it?

Too many questions were swirling through her mind. She had no answers to any of them, her train of thoughts only ever leading her to more problems she had no way of solving.

Kara felt as if she was about to buckle under the weight that was on her shoulders. Her dream still plagued her and now this entire story was turning out to be even more of a mess than she had originally thought it would be. There was just too much going on right now and she needed to find answers to something. Anything really. Just so she could ignite the spark of hope inside she so desperately needed because at the moment she felt hopeless and utterly paralyzed.

Shaking her head slightly to regain her focus the blonde stepped closer to she force shield. No one, as far as she could see at least, had tried to touch it yet. Kara was curious how close she could get and what it would feel like to come in contact with the weird entity that was looming in front of her.

Tentatively she reached out, her hand shaking with adrenaline and nerves. Due to it's glowing nature she had expected it to feel warm, hot even, but it wasn't. Instead of being met with heat, Kara felt electricity run through her fingers and up her arm. It didn't hurt, however it wasn't pleasant either. Still she wanted to know if the shield could be pierced with something as simple as a hand.

Unsurprisingly her attempt to breach the shield was to no avail. Rather than getting a look on what was going on on the other side, the blonde reporter was pushed away from the shield. Repelled by the entity as if she were of the same magnetic pole.

Kara only slightly stumbled backwards, catching herself at the last moment before she could roughly hit the ground.

“Are you okay?”, one of the few other bystanders asked her concerned.

“I'm fine.”, she brushed off, turning around when she heard sirens approaching.

A handful of police cars were arriving at the scene, ushering civilians away from the force shield and started to seal of the 'crime scene'. They were working fast and efficiently, trying to protect the people from possible threats. Kara could see that Alex and Maggie were with them.

When the couple spotted her, the two women made their way over. Worry on Alex's face, while her girlfriend looked confused and concerned at the same time.

“Kara!”, her older sister called out as soon as they were in earshot.

“Alex. Maggie,” Kara greeted them with a small smile, “How many blocks are affected? It looks huge, you could even see it from CatCo. I tried to get through, but it's energy just pushes you back.”

The two police officers listened carefully to all of her information. Maggie was scribbling down notes on her small note pad, while her sister had her forehead in wrinkles.

Maggie was the first one to speak: “We don't know exactly how much the force shield covers, but it seems like a couple of neighborhoods, two or three as far as we can tell right now. Notable though is that it encompasses at least the two that have the highest crime rates and are all-together not the nicest areas to live in.”

Kara nodded, mentally taken notes of everything the brunette woman just told her. Her sister was still deep in thought, seizing up the scene before her.

The fact that the most unfortunate neighborhoods were now separated from the rest of the city was unnerving to say the least. However it was the detail the reporter needed to solidify and confirm her previous gut-feeling. This was connected to the prisoner transfer. There was no way that it wasn't linked. All she needed was one piece of evidence to tip her off in which directions he had to go.

“I want you to stay away from this Kara.”, Alex finally said something. It was clear that the woman had processed everything and was now ready to state what her thoughts on all of this were.

“You know that I can't do that,” the blonde shook vehemently her head, “I know that I'm capable of connecting the dots of this story. So far no one has figured out more about this case than me.”

She knew that here arguments were good and that when it came down to it there was nothing her older sister could do about her evolvement in this. Still it would mean the world to have Alex's support on this one and it would mean that they wouldn't fight each other ever step of the way of this investigation.

The tone of the auburn haired woman was warning: “Okay but don't do something reckless again. I mean what the hell were you even thinking when you tried to breach the shield?!”

“I'm a reporter. That's what I do.”

“I don't see anybody else trying to poke holes in it! You know that it was stupid, so please refrain from doing idiotic things like that again. I wouldn’t know what I'd do if you were to get hurt...”, at this Alex's voice trailed off, the source of her previous anger as clear as day.

“I'm fine,” Kara replied softly, pulling her sister in a tight hug.

“Danvers! Sawyer!”, another police officer yelled, breaking up their moment.

“We'll tell them what you told us,” Maggie assured her, “But right now you need to leave. We'll keep you posted on the fragment you found yesterday. It's being analyzed as we speak.”

The blonde nodded in understanding and ducked under the crime scene tape. She had more than enough to write a small piece on the latest event and if she was lucky enough, the police couple would send her more information on the evidence she found at the disposal site.

Back at CatCo the office was as crazy as it had been ever since the incident. Everyone was rushing around and the atmosphere was sizzling with anxiety. There were less people here though and the blonde could only assume that a handful must be out in the streets trying to gather intel.

Nia wasn't at her desk when Kara sat down in her own chair. Her absence was odd. The brunette usually never went out alone. She liked to work in a team.

Since there was not much she could do, she sent her a short text asking her where she was and if she was coming in today.

Kara missed her best friend. Work was always better when Nia was around. It wasn't just because the girl was funny and they got along well. Just her presence alone was soothing and always trumped working next to an empty desk or someone she didn't really know.

When her phone lit up she quickly read the text: “Sorry! I overslept, I'll be there as soon as I can.”

That had the blonde chuckling. She could imagine how Nia was racing through her shared apartment, gathering up clothes and multitasking while getting ready. It was adorable whenever the girl slept through her alarm. She would arrived at the office, slightly out of breath and her hair a little messy, but in a cute way.

Kara used the time before her best friend arrived to write the short text on what she had found out about the force shield. It wasn't enough to make an outstanding and truly informative article, however it would be enough to be used for the television news. As a short comment on what was happening.

After sending it to Cat, after all she had told her boss that she would keep her updated, Nia plopped down in the chair next to her and placed a cup of coffee on the blonde's desk.

“I was already late so I thought that I could might as well stop by your favorite coffee shop.”

Grinning the blonde took a sip and hummed appreciatively: “You are simply the best Nia.”

Over the course of the next half a hour, the blonde filled her best friend in on everything that had happened so far. The brunette had only seen the force shield form afar and a quick commentary on it on the radio when she had made her way to work.

“This is getting crazy.”, Nia gasped, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I know,” Kara agreed, “And I have a feeling that tells me that something even bigger is happening. Something that connects these two events and builds a bigger picture.”

“After all of this, I'm pretty sure I won't like whatever it is that's about to come next. This story has developed from something shady to something bad and now to something that has the potential to be evil.”, Nia whispered as she shuddered at the thoughts running through her head.

Kara on the other hand didn't want to jump to a conclusion just yet. Everything pointed to it being criminal and bad, but maybe they were wrong. However then everybody must be wrong and what were the chances of that? The blonde was just so hopeful at times. She wanted to see the good in everything and to accept that dark forces were at works in National City just didn't sit right with her. Still, deep down she had a bad feeling.

Before the blonde could rack her brain any more, her phone lit up, the caller ID telling her that Maggie was on the other line.

“Hey! What's up?”, she greeted her warmly.

It was strange to have her calling instead of Alex, but then again her sister could be busy with something else at the moment.

“Kara,” Maggie replied, “I don't know why Alex still hasn't told you about it, but the report on the metal you gave her yesterday just came back. It's a very unusual material, basically no one uses it for badges except one company.”

Anticipation filled the blonde reporter and she was holding her breath, waiting for the piece of information that could lead her to answers she desperately needed.

“It's Luthor Corp.”

Maggie had just simply stated the name, but to Kara it felt as if a gun had gone off. Lena Luthor. The dark haired girl's name was echoing on a loop through her empty head. She had no idea what kind of role Lena played in the company. Or if she already had any part at this point in time. Was she at university like in her other life? Or was she working for Luthor Corp?

“Kara?”, Maggie sounded concerned, checking if she was still on the line or if the call has somehow disconnected.

“Maggie! Is that Kara?!”, she could hear the panicked voice of her older sister in the background.

The next thing she knew it was Alex on the phone, voice calmer than before: “Kara, talk to me.”

Of course her sister would have kept this from her. Just last night she had gushed about Lena. She had told Alex everything. Including her last name. And now that Luthor Corp was apparently involved in this mess it was only natural for her sister to want to protect her. Break the news to her gently.

“I..,” Kara chocked on her words, “Alex please tell me that she is halfway across the country or globe in some fancy ivy league school.”

“I can't. She works there Kara. I'm so sorry. But that doesn't mean that she's involved! Lex, her brother, and her mother Lillian run the company. She is barely mentioned in any articles. Seems like she is more the behind the scenes kind of girl instead of the company's face like her family.”, Alex tried to reason with her.

“I need to go,” the blonde replied, “I promise I'm okay, I just need to find out as much as possible. Rules me damned, this obviously calls for an exception.”

With that Kara disconnected the call, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her laptop typing: 'Lena Luthor'. Her finger was hovering over the enter-key. This would change things. Investigating her in this life would most definitely lead to her feeling weird around her Lena. But she had to know and if she would stop kidding herself she would realize that everything had already changed.

So with one final deep intake of breath she hit enter.

Her alarm went off and as she opened her eyes everything that had happened once she had looked Lena up came crashing down on her.

Kara felt awful for having broken her rule, but there hadn't been another way. Luthor Corp was now part of the investigation and she wouldn't let her own feelings and rules come in the way of her duty.

To her relief Alex had been right about Lena not being a major player at Luthor Corp. But then again there was next to nothing on the brunette altogether. As much as the blonde had tried to dig up information, she had come short of anything really substantial. Unlike her Lena here, she had went to MIT, acquiring not only one PhD but several in record time. They were in physics, bio-chemistry and other science areas.

Despite trying to be professional about it, Kara's heart felt for her Lena. She was a business student as far as she knew, no minors in physics or anything like that. Seeing that the other Lena had opted for science instead of business had made her think. Especially after having been to the lab here at the university something told her that maybe her Lena wasn't really following her dreams.

Still her nerves about the Lena in National City were running high. The blonde needed to know in what capacity the brunette was involved and how much she knew. Or if she knew anything at all since there was no way Kara could imagine Lena doing anything bad for that matter.

But now was not the time to worry about this issue. She had classes to get to and she needed to get her head in the game. Her tattoo hadn't expanded and she hadn't had a dream so that was good news.

Throwing on a comfy light blue hoodie that brought out her eyes and pairing it with tight black jeans she headed out of her dorm room and to her first class of the day.

There would be no classes with Winn nor with Brainy, but Kara knew that Jack would at least be in her first lecture. So as soon as she entered, her blue eyes scanned the room for the familiar face.

Jack was sitting in the back row and was focused on the small screen of his phone. Despite being a notorious party boy he always attended his classes. And by what he had told her, he was also doing quite well in them.

“Hey you.”, Kara greeted her friend as she sat down next to him.

“Hey,” he gave her one of his dazzling smiles, “I'm super glad that we share so many classes. I'd be bored out of my mind if I had no one to join me in commenting on everything the professor tells us.”

The blonde chuckled. Jack had a habit of running a commentary on whatever was being taught. He would find pop-culture references to phrases, would skillfully find opportunities for puns and he would just generally disagree with something being said, stating his point and arguments as he went. It was such a refreshing way to listen to a lecture and by the end of their last shared lecture yesterday, the blonde had even started commenting herself.

With Jack next to her time flew by. Lectures which would have been dry and hard to focus on were delightful with him and as they exited the classroom at the end of their last class the guy looked at her with a wide smirk.

“What?”, Kara questioned, shy smile on her lips.

“I've met a lot of people, but none of them have been quite like you. We make a great duo, at parties and in the class room.”, Jack grinned.

Thinking back at how they destroyed everyone who had tried to win a beer pong game against them the blonde laughed loudly: “True. We are a force to be reckoned with”

The two friends continued to joke around. Kara was pleasantly surprised how well they worked. Playful and witty banter seemed to be their way of communicating. Her usual experience was that bantering could only go on for so long, but somehow it worked perfectly with Jack. It was a never ending battle of who could one-up the other one. Both of them trying to no avail to force the other one into a dead-end and have them surrender with a laugh.

As they made their way across campus to meet up with Winn and Brainy for a coffee Kara spotted Lena. The brunette was sitting on one of the benches that were scattered all over campus. She was currently talking to her girlfriend Veronica and apparently hadn't seen her yet.

Kara smiled, by now it was an involuntary and subconscious reaction to seeing the dark haired girl. The sun made her dark hair and the green of her eyes look lighter and the red of her lips shone just a little brasher. Lena looked absolutely radiant.

But then the events of last night in her other life caught up to her and her heart sunk a tiny bit. She would have to investigate the National City Lena. However her brain reminded her that these were two different people and she was able to shake the dark looming thoughts from her mind.

“Kara?”, Jack said as he waved his hand in front of her face.

“Huh? Sorry, I guess I zoned out.”, the blonde apologized, red tinting her ears.

“Well Lena Luthor can do that to you.”, the guy chuckled and gave her a playful shove with his shoulder.

Kara was bright red now, stumbling over her words as she was quick to assure him: “I have no clue what you're talking about. I don't even see her.”

“Right.”, his laughter was loud and a few people actually looked into their direction in response of it.

After he recovered, wiping away the last remainders of his tears of amusement, he smirked at her: “Well she's right over there. Why don't we go and say hello?”

The blonde was still embarrassed, the redness of her face a give-away. It flustered her how easily people seemed to pick up on her adoration of the brunette. Her sister had commented on it after Kara had told her the story of how they had met and now Jack had called her out after catching her gazing at the dark haired beauty form afar.

But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction by continuing to act like a thirteen-year-old girl. She was at university for Christ sake, she had two lives and was a reporter at CatCo. There was no way one girl could possibly throw her off her game so much that she would make any more of a fool out of herself than she already had.

“It would be rude not to say hello.”, Kara stated, having gathered herself enough to not be blushing anymore.

Jack didn't reply to that. He was just smirking knowingly and put an arm around her shoulders as they made their way over to the couple.

When they were in earshot the blonde picked up on their conversation.

“Veronica,” Lena sounded exasperated, “Why are you making a big deal out of this? It doesn't even concern you...”

The brunette trailed off when she saw the two students approaching. Her jaw was still set, but the angry fire that had been burning in her eyes was now replaced by a guarded look.

“Jack”, she said in greeting, her eyes softening ever so slightly when her green eyes landed on the blonde, “Kara. Where are you two headed?”

“To the coffee shop. We're going to have some quality time with Brainy and Winn.”, the guy smiled cautiously. Neither of them had expected to walk in on a fight.

“Well send them our best regards.”, Veronica scowled, not pleased by the intrusion of their apparently also not pleasant conversation.

Kara knew that it was meant to send them on their merry way. However the look on Lena's face didn't sit right her. There was no spark in her eyes and her entire posture was still stiff. The blonde couldn't understand why Veronica seemed to unfazed by it all. As if the way the brunette felt didn't matter as much as whatever her opinion on the topic was. It angered Kara and it took everything in her not to get into it.

Clenching and unclenching her first, a forced smile making her face look almost like a grimace, she finally said: “Will do. I guess I'll see you around Lena?”

Apparently even that rubbed Veronica the wrong way. The girl rolled her eyes, but thankfully didn't comment on it.

Lena ignored the antics of her girlfriend as she replied with a hint of a smile: “Most definitely.”

Neither Jack nor Kara said anything for a couple of steps, aware that Veronica was watching them like a hawk. But as soon as it was safe to talk again, the blonde let out a sigh.

“Yeah,” her friend agreed, “She is a piece of work.”

“Does she ever smile?”, Kara asked since she had never seen the girl look anything but hostile.

“Veronica doesn't have to smile.”, Jack laughed humorless, “I don't even know how some people find her charming. Sure that girl is cunning and powerful, but she majorly lacks in departments like compassion and likeability.”

The more Kara heard about the brunette the more she questioned why Lena was even with her. Veronica was everything that the dark haired beauty wasn't. The blonde wanted to say something about it, but after Jack had already called her out on her little crush and she was aware that she was in no position to say anything about it, she shut her mouth again.

Still Jack seemed to know what had shot through her mind: “I wonder the same thing sometimes, but they've been together for so long that I understand that it's hard to reflect on where the relationship is. I honestly just want to see Lena happy. She deserves happiness. If Veronica makes her smile I'm all for it...”

Kara didn't have to say anything. Both of them knew, Jack definitely more than the blonde, that Veronica most certainly did not make the brunette happy. Kara had not once seen Lena smile at her girlfriend and when she had told her about how they got together there had been no spark in her eyes.

“I don't want to overstep,” Jack began, for the first time sounding unsure of what he was about to say, “But she smiles at you. Like really smiles.”

The blonde's heart swell and she hid her shy smile that could have rivaled the sun in it's brightness and the rosy blush on her face. It had been a simple statement, but it's implications was heavy with meaning.

They left it at that since there was nothing more to say. Their playful banter was picked up again and when the two friends entered the coffee shop their previous encounter was momentarily forgotten.

Winn, Brainy, Jack and Kara talked for hours. Conversation flowed easily and by the end of it they all agreed on making hang-outs like this a regular thing. The group of friend, though only knowing each other for a couple of days, had grown close. They shared this kind of friendship where everyone just clicks and balances each other out to make for a great group dynamic.

When the coffee shop was about to close up for the day, everyone went their separate way. The blonde put in her headphones and just as she was about to press play a message from Lena popped up.

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to stop by after your group-hangout. Only if you're free of course.”

A wide and happy grin stretched over her features. She didn't have to ask where the brunette wanted her to meet up. She already knew. It warmed her heart to think about Lena wanting to see her again. Especially in a place that was so special and personal to the brunette.

Deciding that she couldn't wait to see the other girl, the blonde didn't bother with changing into new clothes. She went directly to the place Lena had taken her after soccer practice. The door was unlooked, courtesy of Lena presumably, and she made her way to the lab without troubles.

It was still slightly light outside. Still the sun that poured in through the window wasn't enough to light up the room. Lena was sitting on one of the stools, looking through the lenses of a microscope and seemed to be in her own little world.

Kara stopped in her tracks and leaned against the door frame, content with just watching the girl for a couple of seconds. The brunette was beautiful like this. Focused on the task at hand and looking a lot more carefree than she had before.

Yet again the thought of Lena not doing what she really wanted to do crossed her mind. Seeing her like this felt like a confirmation that the brunette should have chosen science over business.

“You're staring.”, Lena said without looking up, smile audible in her voice.

The blonde's mouth fell agape. She was no ninja, but she would have thought that she had been silent enough to not make her presence known.

“You looked so content and immersed in your own world. I didn't want to distract you.”, Kara said as she walked over to where the brunette was sitting.

Lena looked up and met the blonde's blue eyes. Kara's features softened even more and the spark in the other girl's green eyes appeared. The brunette looked tired and before she could stop herself she reached out over the lab desk and put her hand soothingly over Lena's.

A look of surprise shot over the girl's features, but was immediately replaced with something that resembled deep affection.

“Well I've had quite the day,” Lena admitted, “You're a welcomed distraction. Even though I wouldn't use that word to describe you.”

“You wouldn't?”

“No,” the brunette shook her head in amusement, “More like a breath of fresh air.”

Again there was this flutter inside her chest. Her smile widened, making her nose crunch in an adorable fashion and Kara pushed a lose strand of hair behind her ear. Hearing Lena say something like that made her all giddy and somehow nervous at the same time.

“Anyways,” it was the older girl to fill the comfortable silence, “Tell me about your day.”

Kara knew that Lena was trying to avoid her asking about why she had had quite the day. The blonde didn't want to push. However she still needed the brunette to know that she wanted to be there for her. A shoulder she could lean on. That she had a friend in her that she could always go to for support.

“Jack is the most hilarious person to sit next to during classes and I have a feeling that the two of us will have a lot of fun in the future. I'm pretty sure he is planning on making us something of an infamous beer pong duo as well. He basically invited me to every party he is going to go to and you know how much he likes to go out.”

Kara was gesturing around as she spoke, glasses slightly sliding down the bride of her nose and Lena was looking at her in a certain way that the blonde couldn't quite name.

“Brainy and Winn have gotten closer as well,” Kara continued, “We already agreed to regular meet ups at the coffee shop at the end of the day since our schedules don't really align and we barely have any classes together.”

The brunette nodded in understanding. After all the two girls didn't have any classes together.

“And then there was this really great moment today,” Kara smirked and Lena quirked up a perfect eye brow, “I got to spend some time with this wonderful person again. The one I wouldn't even have talked to hadn't I made a fool out of my charming self.”

Lena actually laughed at her last comment, affection shining in her green orbs as she stood up and pulled the blonde into a tight hug.

“Thank you Kara.”, she whispered in her ear, as the blonde snaked her arms around her waist and pulled her even closer.

“You said that you've had quite the day. There was no way I would let you end it with a frown on that beautiful face of yours.”, Kara said determined, not entirely sure where the confidence to say something borderline flirty had come from.

She could feel the brunette's chuckle against her own body, reminding her how close to two of them still were. Kara felt a wave of endearment wash over her. Lena had asked to spend time with her after she had had a bad day and she had actually managed to cheer her up a bit. Seeing the girl smile and laugh had become one of Kara's favorite things and she knew that she would do anything to see her doing it more often.

When the two separated again Lena admitted: “I had a fight with Veronica today. I mean I assume that you already know that since it was right before you and Jack came over to say hi.”

Kara didn't reply, waiting patiently for the brunette to go on.

“I'm not going to go into details. I'll keep it abstract because it's kind of a long and messy story and I'm sure that one day I'll tell you all about it. But for now I just want to know your opinion on something,” there was a short moment of silence before she continued, “Would you stick to the plan you had for your future since childhood or would you follow your heart? Even if it meant more obstacles, disapproval, disappointment and potential failure.”

She had a feeling that she knew what Lena was talking about. The dark haired girl was asking her about changing her studies to focus on science rather than business.

Taking a deep breath Kara said thoughtfully: “I'm a strong believer in always following your heart. If it's something you truly want no obstacle or disapproval should be big enough to deter you from fighting for it. As to the disappointment and potential failure... In my opinion disappointment that is solemnly based on someone going after what they want is stupid. When someone cares about you, they will support you no matter what. They will especially support you when follow your heart, because they have faith in you. And even though I haven't known you for long I already know that you and failure just don't go together. You're an amazing person and you can do anything you put your genius mind to.”

The brunette's eyes had glassed over.

“So should you decide to follow your heart, Jack, Brainy, Winn and I will have your back 100%. Every single one of us believes in you.”

“Kara Danvers,” Lena said with a husky voice, “I have no ides what I've done to deserve you, but I'm so grateful to have you in my life.”

As Kara was lying in her bed a dreamy sigh escaped her lips. The rest of the night Lena and the blonde had spend talking about more trivial things. They had made plans to see each other again soon and had started a new series that they promised they would only continue watching together.

Spending time with Lena Luthor had been the highlight of Kara's day once again. It was like the presence of the brunette made everything better, somehow lighter and more meaningful at the same time.

The only thing hanging heavily over her was the knowledge that once she woke up, she would no longer be in Metropolis with the Lena that had already such a dear place in her heart. She would be a reporter in National City and Luthor Corp would be the focus of her latest investigation. Tomorrow might be the day where she would cross paths with National City's Lena Luthor for the first time.

That was her last thought before she fell into a dreamless slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are your theories on what's going on in National City and did you enjoy the soft Supercorp moment?
> 
> Next up is the introduction of National City's Lena Luthor...
> 
> (Find me on Twitter @1penelopepark)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to wish you guys a Merry Christmas and happy holiday :)
> 
> I'm sorry it took so long, but uni and life got in the way so I wasn't able to write lately. But here you go, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The moment Kara opened her eyes she felt something heavy weighing down on her heart. For a short second the blonde thought that her laptop was laying on top of her. However when she looked down there was nothing. Realization hit her then. She had to investigate Lena Luthor today.

Her heart clenched uncomfortably at the thought. Despite knowing that whatever Lena had done here in National City had nothing to do with the Lena she had gotten close to, Kara couldn't shake the weight that was increasing by the minute.

The reporter knew that sending a request for an interview would most certainly be shut down by the company. But that didn't spark relief. Quite the opposite really. Now the blonde had to find a way to get Lena Luthor to talk to her. A reporter from CatCo. Good luck to herself.

Deciding that dressing her best wouldn't hurt her chances, the reporter threw on her favorite outfit. It were the most expensive clothes she owned as well having bought it for her job interview with Cat Grant.

Black slim pants accentuated her athletic build and gave her a 'legs for days' vibe with her matching heels. The red blouse with it's deep v-neck cut made her look sophisticated and laid back at the same time. It was the perfect business look for her and with her make up done she felt ready to take on the world. She knew that she looked good and that helped a lot with her confidence which she knew she would desperately need for today.

Wavy blonde hair bouncing slightly with every step she left her tiny apartment. The plan was to head to Luthor Corp and get a coffee at the nearest Starbucks. That way she could scout the area and maybe get lucky in spotting the raven haired beauty by chance. Of course she would also send a formal request to the company and ask for an interview just to be able to say that she tried.

Starbucks was hectic. Everyone wanted to get their caffeine fix before heading into work so the baristas were more than busy. Kara didn't mind waiting a little longer than usual for her coffee and snagged herself a spot near the window overlooking the street and the main entrance of Luthor Corp.

The smell of coffee and baked goods was in the air and the noise of the coffee machines blended with the chatter of the customers. Kara thought that all of it gave the establishment some character. Sure it was kind of main stream to go to a Starbucks, but in her opinion it amounted to a lot whenever people interacted and the atmosphere was filled with homey scents. It spoke of life, main stream or not.

When the blonde finally had her warm coffee, she got her laptop out and started to type the e-mail regarding the interview, looking up every once in a while to check if Lena was anywhere to be seen.

It only took half an hour for the company to deny her request and even though the reporter had expected it she felt a pang of defeat. Nevertheless the blonde was as determined to get to the bottom of it all as she had been from the very start.

By now Kara knew that Lena must have entered the building before she had gotten to the coffee shop and to just wait around hoping that she would leave for lunch was too much of a gamble to waste her time on. She had to come up with a new plan, because her short lived stake-out mission, was ruled as a failure by her.

The day was beautiful. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and a light breeze was cooling enough to not feel too hot. It was one of those days where being stuck in an office was torture and the view out of a window was taunting. So naturally the reporter would deplete all options before she would admit that heading to CatCo was the most sensible thing to do with her time.

If the other Lena was anything to go by National City's Lena Luthor would be too dedicated and too much of a workaholic to head to the park for a break. That left Kara with the conclusion that she had to find a way into the huge building across the street.

However this was Luthor Corp she was talking about. The company had probably the best security team and system to prevent anyone unauthorized to enter.

But if there was one thing that Kara Danvers was it would be resourceful. Her bubbly and clumsy yet somehow charming behavior had gotten her out of trouble more times than she could count. Living two lives had also provided her with adaptation skills and quick thinking on her feet.

An idea started to form and the blonde looked down at her outfit again, whispering to herself: “Confidence is key. You got this.”

Approaching the skyscraper the reporter adjusted her glasses every couple of steps. She was nervous and not entirely sure that her plan would work. Being thrown out of a building was definitely not on her to do list today or ever.

When she reached reception desk a young man plastered a fake smile on his face. In a manner which told her that it was almost an automatic greeting by now he asked: “What can I do for you? Do you have an appointment?”

She most certainly did not have that.

“Miss Danvers here. The city send me,” Kara tried her best to sound convincing, “We are about to pass another law concerning the standards of laboratories and I'm here to do a check-up of the ones here at Luthor Corp.”

The man didn't seem to believe her, however he didn't call security right away as well so that was something. Plus in a way she wasn't really lying when she told him that the city had sent her. In a sense working as a reporter for CatCo also meant her working for the city.

“I assure you that Luthor Corp has the best of everything. There is no need for you to be here, especially since you don't have an appointment.”, he replied politely.

“The whole purpose of these inspections that we're doing is that they are unannounced. If we were to call you beforehand there is no way to ensure that what we see is what it usually looks like.”, the blonde continued to tell her made-up story with conviction.

Exasperated the man put the phone to his ear, calling someone with more power to make a decision.

So far everything was going better than Kara could have hoped for. If she actually got access to the labs there was a slight chance that she would actually run into Lena.

As soon as the call ended the man looked up at her, a sour expression on his face as he handed her a key card: “You're in luck. Apparently Miss Luthor doesn't want to take a chance to provoke the city. She'll meet you once you get off the elevator.”

“Thank you.”, the blonde smiled at him. 

When she turned around to head towards the elevators her smile widened into a grin. She couldn't believe her luck. She had actually managed to get into Luthor Corp and she would be personally greeted by Lena Luthor herself.

Once the last thought passed through her mind she almost halted. The reporter would meet Lena in a matter of minutes as someone who was sent by the city. She really should have spend more time working on that crazy plan of hers.

With every second the elevator descended to the laboratories her stress level rose. Her best bet was to just let Lena do the talking, show her the labs and explain how the company secured the area.

When the automatic doors opened blue eyes met green ones. It was like time stood still, everything faded away and all Kara could see was Lena. Seeing her felt so familiar and at the same time brand new.

She looked different, in a way older and more guarded than the Lena she knew from university. Her hair was in a tight ponytail and the three pice suit she was wearing under the open lab coat almost gave the blonde a heart attack. The dark haired beauty truly looked as if Michelangelo carved her himself.

Somehow the blonde was still capable enough to step out of the elevator before the doors closed again. It would have been embarrassing if they had closed before she had gotten off. She knew that she should introduce herself, or just say anything at all. However the reporter couldn't and it seemed like neither could the scientist. The air was electric and the blonde's heart was the only sound in her ears.

“I'm Lena Luthor,” the brunette finally broke the daze the both of them had been trapped in, “And who might you be?”

“Ahem,” the reporter struggled to get a grasp of reality again, still reeling from the high those green eyes had given her, “I'm Kara. Kara Danvers.”

And then the blonde smiled. No matter what life she found herself in, it seemed like she would always make a fool out of herself when it came to the girl in front of her. At least she wasn't blushing like an idiot today. Small victories.

“And the city sent you?”, the scientist asked her when Kara didn't say anything other than her name, a confused crease forming on her forehead.

“Yes,” the blonde nodded a bit too enthusiastically, “We just want to make sure the city is safe.”

It sounded cheesy and was completely vague. Still it somehow made her feel better about lying. By constantly saying that the city had sent her and that she was working for the people, doing her civic duty in a sense, she didn't feel like she was deceiving the brunette completely.

When Lena only nodded, the reporter asked cautiously: “I don't want to appear rude, but I didn't expect someone to actually let me do my job. Luthor Corp isn't known for welcoming unannounced visitors with open arms.”

The scientist chuckled humorlessly: “Well you have a valid point Miss Danvers. However I try to make the company more approachable and have as little conflict as possible. I believe that my behavior, though it might only represent the science department, could amount to some good press which would ultimately be good for my family's company.”

Lena spoke calmly and determined. Some would have felt like it was a rehearsed speech to make a good impression, but Kara saw the passion behind the words. The dark haired beauty believed in what she was saying and it was clear that she wanted to change things for the better from inside Luthor Corp.

“That's inspiring and I wish you all the best with that. Truly.”, the blonde replied with a real smile.

She meant what she said. If Lena was being honest, and there was really no reason why she wouldn't be since she had agreed to show her around, she was different from her family. Lillian and Lex were known to be cut-throat, manipulative and everything but positively inspiring.

Lena blushed slightly in response. But it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, making the blonde question if it had been there in the first place. If it had it would have been a tiny crack in the professional and guarded exterior the scientist upheld and Kara craved to get another glimpse at the person behind the mask.

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” the brunette said composed, “Shall we begin with the inspection? I upgraded all the critical systems myself.”

“So they're all playing in their own league?”, Kara send her a small grin, making an attempt at banter, praying it wouldn't backfire.

Her risk payed off. Once again Lena's nonchalant mask slipped and she failed at biting back a smirk, a bright glint in her green eyes.

“If you decide you want to put it like that I won't stop you.”, she replied, her smile still in place and to Kara it was the most beautiful thing.

As the reporter had previously hoped for Lena showed her everything without her having to as. She explained how the fail saves worked and pointed out all the precautions. To keep up her cover Kara took meticulous notes on the things the brunette mentioned. The entire thing went smooth and the blonde was more than just surprised that she hadn't run into real difficulties. The worst thing that could happen now was that they would find out that she was not here for an inspection but a reporter before she could ask the brunette any relevant questions.

When they were done the scientist turned to face the blonde: “I hope it has all been up to your standards Miss Danvers?”

“I was impressed, however I'll have to review everything and write a report for the city,” the reporter replied, “And please call me Kara.”

Lena's raised her eyebrow in surprise, apparently too startled to say something in return and the blonde only then understood what she was implying. Everything had felt so natural and of course she had assumed that they would see each other again. For one because of the story she was pursuing and secondly because she didn't want to imagine never crossing paths again with the brunette after this. Even though she was so different from her Lena Kara still felt the electricity of the moment they had locked eyes when she had gotten out of the elevator.

At the silence the reporter ran her fingers through her blonde hair, messing it up a bit in the process as she elaborated: “I mean only if you want to.”

The brunette's eyes softened and her posture loosened somewhat. Kara knew that she must look like a professionally styled nervous puppy right now. At least that's what Alex would probably describe her as if she were here.

“What I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't be opposed to seeing you again. You're incredibly smart, passionate and quite frankly I think you're amazing. Who wouldn't want to be around someone like that you know?”

“Well most people wouldn't even want to be in the same vicinity as a Luthor.”

There was bitterness in her voice, maybe even sadness and it reminded the reporter who her family was again. It was unfair to judge someone based on their family's actions and not their own. The brunette seemed to be collateral damage of Lillian and Lex's ambitions. Strung along but never acknowledged for the good she was doing.

Taking a tentative step towards Lena the blonde replied softly yet with conviction: “I guess that means I'm not most people. It's not relevant that your last name is Luthor, it's what you do as Lena that really matters. And from what I have seen today it's pretty impressive.”

Kara didn't know what had come over her. They had just met and here she was praising the scientist in front of her. She hoped that the brunette didn't feel like she was crossing any boundaries or made her feel uncomfortable in any way.

In addition to that she had yet to ask the questions she had come here to ask. But with the direction she had taken it almost seemed impossible to steer their conversation to the recent events of the city.

“I appreciate that. I'm certainly trying to make a name for myself outside my family so it's rewarding to hear that it's not an unattainable goal.”

Lena's professionalism was a stark contract to the blonde's heartfelt speech. However that didn't upset the reporter, it just reassured her that her words hadn't been in vain or unwanted.

Kara smiled at her and flipped to an empty page in her notebook. She ripped the page out and scribbled down her number.

“In case you ever want to hang out and grab some lunch or dinner.”, the blonde explained and handed her the note.

Their fingers brushed and the small contact send tingles through her entire body, making her heart flutter in the familiar manner again. It almost felt like the both of them maintained skin contact longer than necessary and the lip bite of the brunette made the blonde inhale sharply.

The elevator opened and a couple of scientists in lab coats exited, effectively breaking the moment.

“I'll keep that in mind,” Lena assured her as the reporter stepped into the elevator, “Have a nice day...Kara.”

Her name was only above a whisper, but she had heard it nonetheless. A beaming smile appeared on her face as the doors closed and her heart skipped a beat. There was no guarantee that the brunette would actually call or text her, but Lena calling her Kara felt like a promise to the blonde.

Kara didn't go to the office afterwards. Instead the reporter decided to go for a run. Somehow her body was buzzing with pent up energy and she needed some release or she felt like she would combust.

Meeting Lena here in National City had been exhilarating. She felt lucky to have managed to infiltrate Luthor Corp and more than fortunate that it had been the brunette to show her around. The reporter never would have imagined to strike gold at her first try. Now all she needed was the scientist to contact her so she could ask her some subtle questions regarding the involvement of her family's company in the recent events.

The blonde felt bad for deceiving her. Lying was never something she wanted to do since she was a strong believer in the truth. Kara wanted to be honest with Lena and a voice at the back of her head was pushing her to come clean should they see each other again. But another voice was telling her to just keep up the charade. That if she were to tell Lena that she was in fact a reporter at CatCo Magazine it would be the end for them.

In the end the voice of reason won. If she were to have any kind of relationship with the brunette she wanted it to be based on honesty. Because if she continued the lie how could she be sure that what they were to share in the future would be real?

But for any of that to happen Lena needed to reach out to her.

It was already pitch-black outside and the reporter was about to get ready for bed when her phone lit up.

“I can't promise long lunches or dinners due to my work ours. However in the case that you're a night-owl I would be open for a drink from time to time. -Lena Luthor.”

Kara's stomach somersaulted and suddenly she was everything but tired.

Not wanting to appear too eager she waited a couple of minutes before she replied: “Any chance that you're in a dire need of a drink tonight?”

The blonde bit her lip in anticipation.

“I didn't think you'd still be awake.”, was the answer and Kara's heart took a dive, only to rise up again when she saw that the brunette was tying again, “But since you are, why don't you meet me in front of Luthor Corp in thirty? I should be able to finish up until then.”

Grinning the reporter leaped off the couch and put her fist up in victory.

“Sure.”

Waiting in front of the building the blonde played nervously with her hands. Had Lena not given her a time to be here she would have taken forever to get ready. In the short amount of time that she had had to leave her apartment she had changed her outfit a dozen times. In the end the blonde had settled for a simple yet figure flattering black dress and a beige coat to keep away the chill of the night.

It looked like no one except the security guards were left in the company building. Lena really wasn't kidding about her work hours and Kara felt a twinge of protectiveness. She wanted the brunette to have a good work and life balance, but it seemed like the scientist was all about work.

When Lena exited the building Kara immediately smiled and met her halfway.

“Kara,” the brunette greeted her, “It's nice to see you again.”

“You too,” the blonde grinned happily, “Though I have to admit that I was surprised to hear from you. Especially so soon.”

Lena ran her fingers through her dark hair that was no longer up in a ponytail, giving it more volume and a messy vibe that somehow made her even more attractive.

“Well you surprised me today. That doesn't happen often so I thought that not getting to know you a little better would be a tremendous waste of a promising opportunity.”

The teasing glint in her green eyes was intoxicating. The use of her formal language was a smart attempt at banter and Kara couldn't help but smirk. A tiny layer of the thick walls that the brunette had built around her heart was slipping away.

“Those are some high expectations you have Miss Luthor.”, the reporter replied with fake seriousness.

Lena's smile widened: “I do have an impressive record to uphold Miss Danvers.”

“Of that I have no doubt.”

Warmth washed over the blonde and giddiness was threatening to burst right out of her chest. Their banter was thrilling in every sense of the way and a shiver ran down Kara's spine. She had to fight goosebumps and was sure that she had forgotten to breathe at one point.

The intensity of the moment didn't seem to only affect the reporter but Lena as well. She hadn't responded to the blonde's last words, but appeared to be content with looking into the blonde's ocean blue eyes.

Kara wanted to reach out and put a strand of Lena's hair behind her ear, caressing the side of her face while she ran her finger down her side to intertwine their fingers. That thought alone set Kara's skin on fire and a blush was creeping on her face.

Wanting to save herself from embarrassment the reporter cleared her throat and asked: “Do you have a favorite bar that you want to go to? I'm not usually in this area of the city so I think it's save to say that you should choose.”

“Alright.”, the brunette agreed and motioned with her head for Kara to follow her.

There was still a lot of traffic, however the sidewalk was less busy than during the day. It was like the darkness of the night called for a drive in a cab rather than a stroll outside. The blonde wasn't complaining though. This way she could easily walk besides Lena without having to worry about bumping into other people in the progress.

The artificial light coming from the cars and the buildings illuminated the brunette's features and made her edges look even more defined. The reporter was tempted to run her finger across the brunette's jaw just to look if she could actually get cut by it or if she was just being ridiculous. Probably the latter but Lena was a scientist she would certainly understand the importance of trying over assuming.

When they entered the bar Kara was surprised to see that even though it was pretty upscale it was rather small and had a homey vibe to it. Dark wood and comfortable looking leather seats were barely visible in the dim but incredibly warm light coming from the high ceiling.

“Lena. I see you brought company this time.”, the good-looking and muscular bartender smiled once he recognized the scientist.

“James this is Kara. Kara this is James, my favorite bartender in all of National City.” Lena introduced the both of them.

“It's nice to meet you.”, the blonde smiled at him.

“You too,” he grinned, “This one usually doesn't bring people around so you must be special.”

At that Lena blushed furiously, failing to hide the bright red of her cheeks by letting her dark hair fall in her face.

“Scotch. Neat,” the brunette's voice was a little higher pitched than normal, “What are you having Kara?”

“A Gin Tonic please.”, the blonde order and James got to work, giving them more privacy again.

Lena still seemed to be embarrassed about the bartender's comment and while the reporter was sympathetic to that feeling she couldn't fight the grin that was plastered on her face. To imagine that she could be special in the brunette's eyes made her heart flutter.

“You look way to pleased.”, Lena grumbled when she finally looked at Kara again.

“What can I say. It's not every day that a girl like me receives such a flattering compliment. Even though it was only indirectly from you. Still I'm a firm believer in actions speak louder than words so thank you for bringing me here.”

The brunette smiled, no longer feeling embarrassed: “You sure have a way with words. That talent might be wasted working for the city doing inspections.”

The words which were obviously meant as a compliment did the exact opposite to the blonde. Her skills were not wasted, but used for the articles she wrote as a reporter. To top it all off she noticed how the tv was currently playing the news concerning the latest events in National City.

Kara was saved by James who put down their drinks. Still her shift in mood didn't go unnoticed by the brunette.

“Are you okay?”, Lena probed cautiously.

“Yeah,” she nodded weakly and motioned to the tv, “It's just that stuff like that is happening and I can't wrap my mind around why someone would do all this.”

Her heart was beating fast, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she steered the conversation towards the story she was investigating all the while covering up the true nature of her feelings. She felt like an imposter.

The scientist looked at the tv and a shadow fell over her features. Her grip on her glass tightened to the point where Kara was almost convinced that it would shatter. The disposition from earlier had vanished and had been replaced by something darker.

Dread filled her. Could it really be possible that Lena had something to do with these happenings? Was the beautiful brunette really involved in what had the city in state of panic?

“It's terrible.”, Lena replied almost nonchalantly.

Anger started to rise in the blonde's chest. How could she act so unaffected by all of this. The unsureness of it all, the mystery of the force field and the most dangerous prisoners on the loose should get to someone in some way right? How could she be so cold unless she knew more about what was going on?

“That's it?”, Kara asked baffled.

The brunette looked at her confused.

“You don't think about what is going on at all?”, the blonde asked her a bit taken aback.

“No. I'm neither a police officer nor a reporter so why should I concern myself with this when I have a company to worry about?”

There was something that Lena was hiding, Kara was sure of it. Something the way her face expression had changed didn't sit right with the reporter. The blonde didn't have a superpower that told her when someone was lying, but with the brunette Kara was somehow sure that there was more.

Steeling herself for the reaction she said: “Well I am. A reporter that is. I didn't plan on telling you like this, but I wanted to be honest with you.”

Lena blinked several times, letting it sink in. Her blank face expression slowly changed from shocked to betrayed and then anger.

“You suspect Luthor Corp. All of this was just so you could interrogate me,” the brunette stated, not letting he emotions lace her voice, “Why come clean when you haven't gotten what you want yet?”

The hurt by her deceit was evident from the look in her eyes. Kara felt awful, realizing that she had jumped the gun too quickly. She had been impulsive by telling her before she had gotten anything out of her. But at the same time she was relieved that she hadn't waited until after she had crossed that line. She cared about Lena, despite sensing that the scientist was keeping dangerous and possibly criminal secrets.

How could she explain that though? Would she actually believe in the brunette if she hadn't met her in her other life already? Was her connection to her friend Lena in Metropolis clouding her judgement when it came to Lena Luthor in National City?

No. Kara refused to believe that.

“I,” the blonde started, overwhelmed by the daggers the brunette was shooting at her, “I like you and I didn't want to start this off with a lie.”

“Right. Like I would fall for this,” Lena scoffed, “Well now nothing is starting. We're done Miss Danvers. Please don't contact me again.”

Desperation and panic washed over Kara and when the brunette downed her drink and stood up, the blonde following quickly.

“Lena,” the reporter pleaded, “I'm trying to do the right thing. There's evidence that points to an involvement of Luthor Corp. I don't think you're just another bad Luthor. Work with me. Please.”

“You should leave.”

Kara knew that there was nothing left that she could do so she grabbed her coat and headed towards the door. Looking back she saw how Lena had slumped down into her chair and had grabbed the blonde's untouched drink. 

She had fucked up. Still the reporter was glad that she had told her the truth. The way she cared about the brunette amazed her. Lena was nothing like the one she was going to university with and yet she felt this intense connection to her. Kara would have rather Lena hate her for the truth than to have her like her for a lie.

The reporter might not have gotten any information from the brunette today, but she had gotten her phone number. Maybe she could find more clues with her sisters help. And maybe, against all odds, she would get to see Lena again. This couldn't be the end. It just couldn't.

That night Kara had troubles falling asleep. The pain behind green eyes and the cold voice telling her to leave haunting her every time she closed her eyes. The only thing that helped her relax enough to finally drift into a slumber was the fact that once she woke up she would be with her Lena again.

The pain was still there when she woke up in her dorm room. The blonde hated how her emotions always stayed with her. Two separate lives but not separate feeling. She had truly won the jackpot with that.

As much as she wanted to text Lena and ask her if she was free today, Kara knew that calling Alex was probably the better option. Seeing the brunette now after what had happened in National City would be too strange. The blonde would probably display the hurt she was feeling and it would only damage and complicate the bond she shared with the other student.

Her sister on the other hand was exactly who she needed to see. She hadn't updated the auburn haired woman at all. The last time she had talked to her sister she had talked with the Alex in her other life. Alex needed to know what was going on and Kara desperately needed her advice and point of view on the events.

Naturally, since she was dying for the day to come to an end, classes went by incredibly slow. Sitting next to Jack was fun, but today the blonde found it harder to come up with smart comments and teasing smiles. It didn't go unnoticed either. Jack's solution was, since he was trying not to overstep so soon into their friendship, to invite her to a party tomorrow night. If she ended up wanting to talk to him there they could leave early or find some privacy. Kara found it sweet that he was giving her several the options and some time to think about maybe confiding in him. He didn't pry, only expressed his concern and offered his company and support.

Still she knew that there was no way she could talk to Jack about anything she was currently going through. How could he possible take her seriously when she told him about her two lives and how she didn't know which one was her real one. She was alone in this. Well almost alone if it weren't for her older sister.

Kara had texted her earlier today and they had agreed on the blonde stopping by after all her classes were done for the day.

When the last lecture ended she said her goodbye to Jack and told him to say 'hi' to Winn since he was heading towards the coffee shop they had been at the previous day.

Thankfully Alex didn't live that far away from campus. Only a short bus ride later Kara was knocking on her sisters door that flew open to reveal her smiling sister.

“Hey you,” she greeted her with a tight hug, “What's going on? Game night is tomorrow and either you miss me like crazy or something happened. My police officer skills tell me it's the latter.”

Stepping inside the blonde nodded. “Yeah. I think in the last couple of days more has happened than in all my lifetime before. I don't know what to do anymore, it's overwhelming to be honest.”

Just being close to her sister made her let loose. Alex's apartment was bigger than her own and the windows were huge, letting a lot of natural daylight inside. It had a lively vibe and felt like home to Kara.

Everything she had been holding in crashed down on her as she let herself fall onto the couch in her sister's living room. The nerves of the investigation, her dream, the expansion of her tattoo, her Lena here and the mess of Lena Luthor in National City.

It was a lot and when Alex layed her arm around her the blonde immediately curled up in her sister's embrace. Taking deep breaths and closing her eyes Kara let her emotions flow without restraint. Alex was here to catch her and help her stand back up again. Getting knocked down wasn't something new and neither was getting back up. She might collapse right now, but there was no way in hell she wasn't going to come back swinging.

Her sister didn't say anything until the blonde sat up again.

“Talk to me.”

And talk she did. Everything that had occurred just spluttered out of her like a waterfall. Kara talked about what had happened and how it had made her feel. Every tiny side thought was expressed and majorly important events were told in the most detailed way.

When Kara was done filling her sister in on what was going on the sun was already setting. Orange light was filtering in and bathed everything in warmth.

“I'm so sorry you're going through this,” Alex spoke up, “This is quite honestly a mess and I have no clue how you haven't told me about any of this before today.”

The auburn haired woman was kind of speechless about all of it. The blonde could see how her wheels were turning and how she was thinking about how to help her. While she had been talking Alex had been taking mental notes and still came up short for a while. Kara certainly didn't blame her. It was a lot to take in and it wasn't like it was an easy situation that called for simple advice. Like her sister had said, it was a mess.

“I hate to ask this, but are you sure that Lena is not dabbling in criminal activity with her family. She's not the person you've gotten close with here.”, her sister asked her cautiously.

After hearing everything it was only logical for her to approach the subject with care. It was obvious how much the brunette meant to the blonde.

“She can't be Alex. I know that she's probably involved in something shady, but I looked into her eyes and all I saw was good.”

“Sometimes we see what we want to see. You need to start dealing with the possibility of her not being as good as you want her to be. Focus on the relationship with the Lena you have here and treat the other one like you would treat any other suspect while pursuing a story.”

Her sister was being reasonable. Kara couldn't deny that. However there was a voice at the back of her head telling here to not give up hope with the scientist. Perhaps she would come around and see how genuine the blonde reporter had been and that she truly did believe that she was different from her family. But maybe that voice was coming from her heart and not her head though.

“Listen,” Alex continued, “I understand that this whole Lena thing is messing you up emotionally, but can we talk about that dream and your tattoo first before he head-dive into the complicatedness of your crush on Lena Luthor?”

“My crush on Lena Luthor?”, Kara repeated scandalized.

“Oh we're still denying that are we?”, her sister sighed, a small smirk playing at her lips.

Deep down the blonde wasn't in denial about that. Of course she had a major crush on the brunette and all her arguing otherwise was obviously in vain. The thing that bothered her and was keeping her from admitting to that was that she was friends with Lena here. Her Lena here was in a relationship with Veronica. Plus she would never in a million years make a move on the brunette. Firstly because Lena was out of her league and secondly because she could see herself falling hard for the other girl. With her lifestyle that wasn't an option and the sole reason she never really started to get into dating.

It was like her sister read her mind as she sighed: “I know Kara. All I'm saying is that maybe you have to reevaluate your rules. Lena changed the game and with you desperately trying to not face your feelings for her might end up hurting you more than breaking your rules.”

Alex was right once again. The brunette was different to everyone and everything. Maybe she should start listening to her heart instead of the rules she has lived by for as long as she could remember.

“So what do you suggest I do? She has a girlfriend and I treasure the friendship I have with her.”, Kara whispered defeated.

“Be her friend. Get to know her more but don't try to shove any emotions down,” Alex told her, “And with Lena in National City there shouldn't be any rules. Play with open cards and don't be afraid to go after what you want. May that be the story, her or both.”

Kara blushed at the last sentence.

“Now to the more important news though. What's that about a key?”

The next half an hour the two sisters discussed the dream and what the rhyme could mean. Neither of them came up with something that made much sense. They didn't know if the key was so monumental it would somehow stand out from everything else. There should be an indicator that it was meant to lead the blonde's way to her real life right? But so far Kara hadn't encountered any glowing objects or visions when she touched something. Then again maybe the two had seen too many movies to make a realistic guess.

After two cups of coffee and fruitless thinking they gave up. However Kara felt tremendously better now that she had talked to her sister about everything.

“Thank you Alex. You're literally my rock, I'd seriously be lost without you.”, Kara admitted honestly.

“Always.”, the auburn haired woman smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and they heard a key turning. The door opened and Kelly walked in with a tall man in tow.

When the blonde laid eyes on him her mouth fell open: “James.”

Alex whipped her head around, eyes wide and whispered: “Bartender James?”

Oblivious to the short conversation of the siblings Kelly greeted them with a smile: “Hey guys. I want you to meet my brother James.”

Kara struggled to stand up and shake his warm hand, getting flashbacks from last night. His eyes sparkled in the same friendly and affectionate nature they had in the bar that Lena had taken her to. It hurt to think about the other James that had met her as a friend of the brunette and had to witness how the reporter had hurt her.

“It's nice to meet you.”, the blonde managed to get out without choking on her words.

“You too.”

The siblings had gotten takeout food and soon everyone was sitting at the dining table and was talking about embarrassing childhood stories, every single one getting exposed equally as much. It was light and fun and every once in a while Kara forgot about why she had come to her sister's place to begin with. But then she looked at James and she was reminded. He was a cool guy, he owned a gym and was a photographer instead of a bartender, and he was genuinely nice. However it was too soon to not associate him with the scientist.

After dinner Kara decided that it was time for her to leave. It was dark out now and she still had to take the bus back to campus.

On her way back to her dorm room she had a small smile on her face. The first one all day that was genuine. Spending time with her sister always lifted her mood and Kelly and James joining them for dinner had been good, despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Still Kara realized that she had missed Lena today. It was the first day without any interaction between the two new friends. After the way things had went south in her other life she wanted to hug her Lena and block out that there was a beautiful brunette scientist out there that hated her.

Now it was probably too late to call her and ask what she was up to, so Kara settled for sending her a quick text, just so she knew that she was thinking of her.

“Jack invited me to this party tomorrow night and I was wondering if you were planning on going there as well.”

It didn't take long for a reply to come through: “I wasn't, but I could be persuaded to go on one condition.”

“Which would be?”

Kara was grinning now. Leave it to Lena Luthor to finally make her feel entirely good again.

“You help me get ready and kill the rest of the wine bottle I have stashed at mine.”

“You've got yourself a deal if we either don't start too early (it's weekly game night at my sister's place) or you agree to come with me.”

After their talk the blonde was pretty sure that Alex wouldn't mind if the brunette tagged along tomorrow night. She might even be ecstatic about the opportunity to meet her and see with her own eyes what 'all the fuss was about'.

“I wouldn't want to intrude.”

“The more the merrier. I promise.”

“Alright. Just text me the time and the place. I'm looking forward to it.”

“Me too. Goodnight Lena.”

“Sleep well Kara.”

The blonde put her phone away as she entered her room and got ready for bed. Today had been a weird day. Classes had been slow and everything after had seemed a lot in little time.

The week wasn't even over, but the blonde felt like it was only starting to get crazy. Her lives had changed with meeting Lena Luthor and whatever was to come was bound to be exciting. In a good as well as in a bad way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like the Lena in National City and what about her chemistry with Kara?


	5. Chapter 5

For the second time this week Kara woke up and immediately knew that more of her tattoo had appeared over night. Only this time the blonde wasn't surprised by it. It was like something deep down had already known that it would happen.

As she sat upright in her bed resignation flooded through her. How come that she didn't jump up and hurry towards the mirror to see how much had been revealed? How come that there was no panic or worry filling her when it was a reminder that time was running out?

She breathed resignation in and acceptance out. There was some kind of peace in that feeling. Like no matter what would come she had come to terms with it. But then again it could be something else. Maybe Kara was just so overwhelmed with had happened the day before in both her lives to realize what it all meant for her. Lines were blurring and it was getting a lot.

Everything seemed so unreal at the moment. And that meant something coming from her who didn't even know which life was her true reality. Perhaps the way she felt right now had been inevitable from the very start. Stuck in a limbo with no sense of what was real. Detached from it all. As if her fate of failure had caught up to her prematurely.

She had to fight it. That's what the reporter settled on. She couldn't just let this state of mind take over and ruin her chances at finding her footing again. Resignation should not take away her shot at finding her reality and getting her happily-ever-after. Well as happily as a normal life could possibly be. 

Kara knew that even if she succeeded life would throw her curveballs and put obstacles in her way. But that was just what life was. No one lived a fairytale and if she was being honest she also couldn't see the appeal to such a life. Pain and hardship made happiness taste sweeter.

When her alarm rang the blonde shut it off and finally managed to walk over to her bathroom mirror. It was time to toughen up and power through the day. She was going to fight her feelings of being down that were weighing on her like a heavy blanket.

The full circle had gotten an addition of a straight line piercing it on the upper left side. Carefully, as if it would hurt her if she put pressure on it, Kara traced the lines of her tattoo with her fingertips. This was a symbol for whatever it was that made her different and she got the inexplicable notion of peace. Despite not knowing if there were others like her she felt connected to something bigger than her while following the tattoo's outlines.

“I will get to the bottom of this.”, the blonde whispered, finding solace in her determination.

Before she headed to CatCo Kara met up with Alex and Maggie for coffee at one of their favorite small cafes in the city. The day was rather chilly, but beautiful nonetheless. The sun was shining and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Well as ordinary as National City could be these days with a giant force field still obscuring the neighborhoods.

“Have you gotten anywhere with the investigation?”, Kara asked her sister as they sat down with their coffee and doughnuts.

“Not at all,” Alex sighed, “It's like no matter where we look we can't find anything. Whoever was behind this has to be a genius. It rarely happens that we find so little right after a crime has been committed. There are always some things that build the base of your investigation, but this one had us looking desperately for any clues. The only solid thing we've got is the piece you found. But that leads to the Luthor's company and we all know how secretive and closed off they are.”

“But since we've got the piece linking them to the van we'll send a team to Luthor Corp today and kindly ask them to come in for questioning.”, Maggie mentioned.

“Speaking of Luthor Corp,” Kara began, “I spoke to Lena Luthor yesterday. Didn't end too well though because I actually lied about what I do for a living to get in and now she isn't talking to me anymore.”

While her sister looked at her with understanding, her girlfriend had no clue about the entire situation concerning Lena and her.

“Why didn't you continue to lie to her to get information out of her?”, the brunette asked confused.

When the blonde could only open and close her mouth in an attempt to come up with something that didn't sound like 'I know her form my other life and I have a hopeless crush on her' Alex jumped in to save her: “You know my sister. She's too good-natured to deceive someone. That's why we're the cops and she's the reporter.”

Maggie chuckled, convinced by her girlfriend's argument, while Kara just breathed out with relief.

The rest of their short breakfast was spend talking about everything but work related stuff and when it was time for the three women to head to work each of them still had a smile on their face.

Before the blonde even got to her desk Nia approached her with alarming wide eyes, making the reporter's heart rate spike in panic.

“Kara!”, her best friend whisper-yelled as soon as she was in earshot, “Why does Cat Grant want to speak to you in her office in private?”

A million thoughts at once ran through her head at that. Had she done something wrong? Had Cat noticed her absence yesterday and was now firing her for incompetence?

“Breathe. I'm sorry for freaking you out!”, Nia was quick to add to her panicked entrance.

“When have you heard this?”, the blonde asked once she had calmed down a bit.

“As soon as I got into the office. Which was like ten minutes ago. Everyone is talking about it.”, the brunette filled her in.

“I better got then. I seriously don't want to keep her waiting.”, Kara nodded, inwardly steeling herself for the worst.

Nia squeezed her hand in support and an attempt of comfort before Kara made her way towards the large office of the media mogul.

With clammy hands she knocked onto the glass door that was open.

“Come in Kiera,” Cat said, eyes fixed to her screen while typing furiously, “Close the door would you.”

Kara did as she was told and stopped in the middle of the office, coming up with possible defenses to whatever her boss could throw at her.

“Do you own a presentable dress?”, the woman asked her as she finally looked up to meet the blonde's nervous blue eyes.

Of all the things Cat could have said that was definitely not the thing the reporter had expected.

When she just stood there with her mouth agape, Cat sighed exasperated: “Can I take this as a no?”

Having recovered from her initial shock Kara responded: “I do have dresses, but I'd have to know the occasion to determine if one of them would be appropriate.”

The blonde was still rattled, however she was now pretty sure that she wasn't going to get fired. Unless Cat wanted her to dress for the occasion. However that would be absurd though so she felt as if she was in the clear, at least in that department.

“You know of the charity fundraiser tonight?”

“I do.”

“I want you to accompany me to it. I'll have someone capable pick something out for you.”, her boss said casually, as if she were talking about the weather and not about a rookie reporter coming to a super exclusive fundraiser as her plus one.

“Excuse me?”, the blonde asked confused, stepping closer to the desk as if that would help her understand the media mogul better.

This entire day had been beyond strange and for a moment Kara considered that maybe this was all a dream. Whenever she had those they were vivid after all. Still she was aware that she hadn't gotten any clues so this had to be real. At least as real as it could be for her.

“Did I stutter Kiera?”, Cat rolled her eyes, but elaborated anyways, “I know about your little expedition to Luthor Corp. You talked to Lena Luthor herself and then blew it. I'm offering you a second chance to investigate. I want CatCo to break the case and report on the strange events in my city.”

Kara was stunned again. Not that Cat knew about yesterday, because obviously she would, but about her actually helping her and giving her the chance to talk to Lena again. If the raven haired scientist was ever going to talk to her again that was. After last night the reporter was pretty sure that forgiving her was the last thing on the scientist's mind.

“What makes you think that I have a shot at discovering something after my failure yesterday?”, the blonde asked, genuinely confused about why her boss was doing this.

Cat stood up from her chair and rounded her desk. She was wearing a chic black dress and her jewelry sparkled in the light. Kara suddenly felt incredibly underdressed and self-conscious.

“Listen. I'm only going to say this once. What you have discovered so far is more than the rest of the city has managed to do. Plus the young Luthor isn't known to socialize. Fix whatever you messed up and get to the truth.”

“I'll do my best.”, the blonde told her, feeling strangely reassured by the woman's words.

“That's not the attitude Kiera. Take this one home. I'll send a car for you at seven.”

She knew she was dismissed so she made her way back to her desk. Of all the things she had been able to take away from the conversation it was the 'take this one home' that got stuck in her mind. Kara was aware that her boss hadn't insinuated that she should take Lena home, but her stupid brain had gone there and now she couldn't get it out of her head.

National City's Lena wasn't even speaking to her at the moment and her moronic brain thought about making a move on the beautiful genius. She had a hopeless crush on the brunette and Kara prayed that she wouldn't make a fool out of herself later. Or even worse ruin her chances forever at making up with Lena.

“Are you okay?”, Nia asked, apparently the reporter had been so spaced out that she had ignored her best friend's first attempts at making conversation. Once again.

“I guess.”, the blonde sighed and filled the brunette in on everything.

Kara's workday had been a huge waste of time. Most of the hours she had spend stressing over the charity fundraiser that she was going to attend tonight. Nia had done her best to calm her down and had eventually decided that it would be best to take the other reporter out to get some comfort food. Food was always the solution when it came to Kara Danvers.

Now it was almost seven and the her best friend was sitting on the couch in Kara's apartment. The blonde was thankful for having Nia with her. Otherwise she would probably be in sheer disarray. With the brunette as her support system here she was only pacing up and down in her little apartment.

“You need to calm down,” the brunette said for the dozens time, “Try to focus on your breathing. You need a cool head for tonight and not fire yourself up before you even get there.”

Nia was right. There was no point in getting all worked up before the charity fundraiser. It would be emotionally tumultuous enough. But how couldn't she be a nervous wreck. Never would she have imagined that she had to face Lena so soon again, only a day after their fallout nonetheless. The raven haired scientist couldn't possibly have had enough time to deal with her deceit. How could she turn it around so soon after?

“Kara,” her best friend tried again, “I helped pick out the dress for tonight. You're going to look phenomenal. Just be yourself and I'm sure it will all work out in your favor. I have never met anyone more compassionate and kind than you. She'll see that. I have no doubt about that.”

“Thank you. Really.”, the blonde smiled weakly at her.

Maybe the brunette was right. Perhaps it was she who wasn't ready to face Lena again. But that couldn't be the case since all she could think about was the brunette. Wether it was her friend in Metropolis or the scientist, the girl consumed Kara's mind.

“Let me do your make-up, the dress will be here shortly and then you're already getting picked up.”

“Okay.”

When the doorbell rang Kara turned around to Nia again: “How do I look?”

“Absolutely gorgeous.”

And Kara had to modestly agree. With her best friend's help she had cleaned up pretty nicely. The reporter was wearing a deep blue dress that brought out her eyes and hugged her in all the right places. She was impressed at the image she had seen when she had looked into the mirror. Normally she couldn't afford something this nice, but Cat really had gone all out. There were golden details stitched onto the soft fabric that made her blonde waves glow.

“You're a life-saver. I'll tell you all out it tomorrow.”, she smiled at Nia and left her apartment.

The car downstairs waiting for her wasn't a car. It was a sleek black limousine. Cat Grant was already sitting in the backseat, sipping on a glass of champagne when she entered.

The ride was spent in silence. Her boss typing away at her phone, answering calls every now and then while Kara tried not to freak out and appear composed.

When the car stopped and the door was opened the reporter was blinded by the flashlights of all the photographers at the scene. The clicking sounds of their cameras were irritating and the calls for attention even more maddening.

“Keep your head help up high and ignore them to the best of your abilities. You're attending with me so please try not to embarrass the both of us.”, her boss whispered.

The two women got out of the limousine and headed for the entrance. The blonde focused on keeping a straight face and with Cat walking next to her she felt herself gain confidence.

“Miss Grant.”, a woman who was flanked with big scary looking guards acknowledged their presence, “Have a lovely evening.”

“Are they not going to ask for my name?”, the reporter asked.

“Don't be ridiculous. I told them I'd bring someone. There is no need for introducing yourself.”

Kara had expected the charity fundraiser to take place in the huge event hall of the building, but Cat lead her to the elevators that took the both of them up to the rooftop terrace. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Instead of a clean modern minimalistic design the event planners had settled for the vibe of a garden. There were plants everywhere, giving the space a very natural and warm feeling. Most of the light came from fairy lights that were tangled in the branches, making the reporter feel as if she had just stepped into a magical world instead of a charity fundraiser of the richest and most influential people of the city.

The blonde, still in a daze, followed the media mogul towards the bar. She let her gaze wander until her eyes landed on the person she had been looking for. 

Lena looked even more beautiful in this setting. Her red dress shone in the warm light and her dark hair looked lighter. Kara simply couldn't tear her eyes away from the brunette and if it hadn't been for the solid bar table she probably would have run somebody over.

Miss Grant actually chuckled at her clumsy behavior as she order them both a Vodka Soda.

“You're going to be fine Kara.”, her boss stated.

The reporter who had already taken a sip of her beverage almost chocked on it. Cat had never said her name correctly. To be honest the blonde had almost been convinced that the woman didn't know her real name.

“Let's say hello, shall we.”, Cat continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

With nerves running high, Kara tried not to stagger on her high heels. Her brain was not functioning at the moment and her mouth was dry, despite the drink she was cautiously taking sips from. The blonde wanted to have a clear mind when she talked to the scientist. Still, she was kind of mad at her boss for throwing her immediately into the cold water. She had hoped that Cat would give her some time to collect herself before approaching the young Luthor, but that was obviously not the case. Probably one of the media mogul's tactics to not have her over-thinking the situation and make her trust her instincts. With only a few steps and Lena still not having taken notice of her presence she finally became aware of the person standing next to the scientist.

“Jack.”, she yelped out in surprise.

“You know Jack Spheer?”, her boss raised her eye brows, clearly not expecting that.

“No. No I don't,” she tried to save her slip-up, “I've just heard of him.”

“You did? He's still at university. I only know him because I know everyone.”, Cat didn't drop it.

Thankfully she was saved from explaining herself further when Lena's eyes met hers. Her green eyes widened in recognition. The brunette held her head up higher and stood with a straighter back as if she was preparing herself to fight the blonde off with coldness.

“You really did a number on her,” Cat whispered before speaking up to greet the two, “Lena Luthor. Jack Spheer. Are you enjoying the evening so far?”

“Cat Grant. It's always a pleasure.”, Jack send her one of his disarming smiles.

Ever the charming one the reporter thought to herself and had to suppress a wide grin. This Jack didn't know her. He wasn't the guy she joked around with in class and who had become a good friend in a limited amount of time.

Seeing him here made her heart clench and forget about Lena for a second. She missed her witty and smart friend and just wished that she could give him a long hug, leaning on his shoulder for support to face a certain someone. But she couldn't.

“Cat.”, Lena gave the media mogul a short nod.

“Let me introduce you, this is Kiera.”

“Kara.”, Lena corrected her immediately before realizing her mistake and pressing her lips into a tight line.

While her boss looked very pleased with herself Jack furrowed his eye brows in irritation before extending his hand to the blonde who gratefully shook it.

“It's nice to meet you.”, she smiled at him.

Lena saying her real name made her want to do a happy dance. However this was neither the place nor the time so she had to contain her giddiness. Maybe this could be fixed.

“I need a drink.”, the brunette announced, grabbing a hold of Jack's arm to drag him towards the bar when Cat interrupted.

“Why don't I accompany your plus one to get you one. I've wanted to catch up with Mr. Spheer anyways.”

“Sounds wonderful.”, the guy smiled and let himself be lead away by the media mogul.

“He used to be better at reading clues.”, Kara chuckled to herself, quietly enough that she thought that Lena wouldn't pick up on it. But she did.

“Excuse me? How would you know that?”, the scientist asked her coldly.

“Oh,” the blonde had never messed up like this before, “I don't. It's just that he is so charismatic that I thought he would be better at observing.”

The blonde almost cringed at her own reply. After the initial good start, with the brunette correcting Cat, she had managed to really shoot herself in the foot.

“So you are aware that I don't want to speak to you?”, her voice was almost bitter.

It almost felt like a challenge to the reporter. A part of her wanted to point out that she was still speaking to her, but responding with that would probably be a very ill advised move. She needed to find a better way to keep the conversation going and make up for what she had done.

“I am,” Kara admitted, “However I would like nothing more than to get the chance to make this right.”

Honesty was the best policy. Especially after her bad decision to start her relationship with the brunette off with a lie. The reporter needed to earn back her trust, if she had any to begin with, and make her see what kind of person she really was.

“And how do you intend to 'make this right'?”, Lena questioned and if Kara hadn't known any better she would have thought that she sounded bored and that she was wasting her time.

That was a good question. One the blonde had asked herself ever since she had been send away at the bar last night. To her dilemma though, she still hadn't come up with an answer. The only thing she could rely on now was her intuition and her knowledge of her Lena in Metropolis. Hoping that the two of them had more things in common than uncommon.

“By being an open book from now on. I meant it when I said that I want to work with you to get to the bottom of what is happening. You have my trust and I hope that with time you can trust me. If you are ever wondering about something, just ask me and I'll be honest.”

Lena seemed to think her words over. Her green eyes were piercing right through her and she crossed her arms. Kara wanted to squirm under the intense glare she was getting. Instead of doing that though she just stood there, blue eyes open and arms hanging loosely by her sides. She was not going to give the scientist any reason to doubt her intentions.

“You spoke of evidence last night. What is it and how did you make the connection to my family's company?”

It was a valid question. One Kara would have asked herself if their roles had been reversed.

“I found a part of a badge on a disposal site where someone got rid of the van that had been used. My sister is on the police force so she told me about their findings. The material of the badge was rare. Only Luthor Corp uses it.”

The blonde didn't like that she had to expose Alex like this. It was risky, but she just prayed that the scientist wouldn't get revenge on her by getting her sister in trouble. As weird as it was, she trusted the brunette. Probably because of her friendship with the Lena in Metropolis, but the blonde couldn't get into that issue at the moment.

“You're throwing you sister under the bus for a story?”, the brunette asked, sounding taken aback by the thought.

“No,” Kara was quick to deny that accusation, “I love my sister and I would never do anything to hurt her. You wanted to know the truth so I told you the truth. As I have said before I trust you and I believe that you're a good person. I don't think you're going to get her fired.”

Kara was holding Lena's stare. It was almost like a battle, but the reporter refused to crack. Lena had to see that she was being sincere. She needed her to see that.

“You're putting an awful lot of faith in someone you don't know.”, the brunette pointed out, skeptical of the way Kara was playing this.

That was the moment the reality of the entire situation hit the blonde. She didn't know National City's Lena Luthor. Jack was apparently an oblivious frat boy instead of an observant and caring guy. There was a huge possibility that her Lena was nothing like the one standing in front of her. Jack wasn't an isolated incident as well. There had been dozens of people Kara had met in her other life and become friends with while she couldn't stand them in the other one. She was gambling her sister's career on the chance that this Lena was good and kindhearted.

There was no point in backing out now though, she couldn't take back what she had disclosed so she had to go all in: “Well I've made my choice and I choose to trust you. Now you have one to make.”

Kara extended her hand while the brunette continued to regard her with contemplation. This had to make absolutely no sense to her.

Every second that passed felt like an eternity to the blonde. The surroundings had long faded into the background and the sound of the soft music had been replaced by the loud pounding of her anxious heart.

With one last contemplative look Lena took her hand, delicate fingers slowly curling around it. Green met blue and it felt as if electricity was surging through her. Everything faded and as if it were a highly animated flashback in a movie Kara was brought back to the familiar and sparkling green eyes she had fallen asleep to back when she had met Lena for the very first time in Metropolis. Then everything went back to normal again.

“Please don't make me regret this Kara.”, Lena said as she let the blonde's hand go again.

Still startled by the flashback her reply came out a bit quivering: “I won't.”

Before either of them could say something, Jack and Cat returned.

“Here you go,” the guy said as he handed the brunette a whiskey, “I hope we're not interrupting, it looked like you were having an intense moment there.”

Kara wanted to scream at him. In this life he was simply impossible.

“Not at all,” Lena assured him with a fake smile, “How was your catching up?”

With that Cat Grant and Kara walked away from the two to give them some privacy. The reporter filled her boss in on how the brunette had agreed to give her a second chance and actually got a disguised compliment for it.

As the night continued Kara found herself alone on one of the bar stools. It wasn't really her crowd and without Nia at her side she didn't have the confidence or patience to listen to some entitled person brag about their accomplishments. The only reason she was here was Lena and with her off somewhere with Jack the blonde didn't know what to do.

The blonde was still dumbfounded by the fact that the scientist had agreed to give her another shot. By the way Lena had looked at her so coldly and had acted as if she didn't care at all, the reporter had seen it go down differently. The scientist's guards were still up and Kara didn't see herself breaking them down any time soon. However the obvious and unwavering show of her trust towards the brunette had apparently sufficed to intrigue Lena enough to try again.

Since she wasn't about to get drunk she had stuck to non-alcoholic drinks after the one Cat had gotten her at the start of the event. Kara felt alone and even contemplated just heading back home. She had lost sight of the scientist half an hour ago and the isolating position she found herself in was getting exhausting. This wasn't her scene and she craved some potstickers and her bed.

Just as she was about to find her boss and inform her of her leaving she spotted familiar raven hair. Lena wasn't with Jack anymore. The brunette was talking to some slimy looking dude. Or rather the man was talking her ear off. Despite the polite smile on her face and her sporadic nods to tell him that she was paying attention to whatever he had to say, she looked bored out of her mind.

The reporter scanned the crowd and found Jack talking to some girl he was clearly trying to get with. With him being preoccupied the blonde saw her chance to approach the brunette. Emptying her glass in one go she fixed her dress, grabbed two flutes of champagne and made her way towards the scientist.

When Lena spotted her a spark of curiosity flashed through her eyes. Kara send her a tentative smile and when the brunette didn't break eye contact the blonde took it as a affirmation that she could interrupt their conversation.

Determined she dodged all the people in her way and came to a halt next to the brunette. She could see out of the corner of her eye that the man was looking at her with irritation.

“I though you could use a re-fill.”, she smiled at Lena as she handed her the champagne, her touch lingering for just a millisecond longer.

The reporter didn't know why she had just done that. Part of her wanted to blame tiredness, but the honest part of her mind knew that she had craved some kind of closeness with the other girl. Whenever she looked at her the blonde felt drawn to her and when she had to keep her distance all she thought about was how she could coax just one smile from her.

“How thoughtful of you.”, the brunette smiled back and inched closer to the reporter, much to her surprise.

Kara didn't know why Lena was leaning into her. After all she had literally just agreed to give her another chance. But she wasn't going to complain. Being so close to the brunette and being on the receiving end of her smile was more than she could have ever hoped for when she had woken up this morning. Lena's closeness was soothing and for the first time tonight the blonde felt comfortable.

Directing her attention to the man the scientist had been talking to she introduced herself: “Hi, I'm Kara Danvers.”

“Maxwell Lorde. How do you know Lena?”

He was rude. That was the reporter's first impression of him. The way he said it just didn't sit right with her. His tone insinuated that since he had never heard of her she couldn't possibly know someone of his status. He was looking down on her.

“Actually that's a funny story,” the brunette replied and looked at the blonde, raising her eye brow in a challenging manner, “Do you want to tell him?”

No she did not. Lena wanted to test if she was going to lie again, but she wasn't going to play this game.

“You tell it so much better.”, Kara smiled. 

She was actually curious to see what the brunette was going to tell him. The way this conversation was going was beyond strange. She couldn't find an explanation to why there seemed to be so little hesitance coming from the other girl. Lena Luthor wasn't the kind of person who gave forgiveness away easily. She had high walls around her heart and didn't like to socialize. Keeping people at arms-length and putting all her time into her work was what the scientist usually did. But then again this could also be the kind of 'keep your enemies closer' situation. That would make more sense and would also explain why the scientist was testing her honestly again.

Lena smirked, almost as if she had anticipated the reporter's answer: “Actually never mind Maxwell. The story is an insider I want to keep.”

The blonde's smile widened considerably. The brunette wasn't going to expose her or make up something. It was their story and it seemed like neither of them wanted to change anything about it. For better or worse.

The man nodded: “Very well then. I still wanted to discuss some business with you though if you don't mind.”

“Could you call my office? I think it's best if I just find Jack again.”, the scientist tried to find a way to politely extract herself from the conversation she wasn't interested in.

“He's busy charming his next conquest, I'm sure he won't mind you staying a little bit longer.”

Kara could feel Lena tensing up beside her and it made her tense up as well. Obviously she didn't want to spend more time with Maxwell Lorde, but the guy wasn't making it easy for her to leave. 

Before she ran into the danger of overstepping she leaned in and whispered so only the brunette could understand her: “Just say the word and I'll come up with something to get you out of this situation.”

What happened next made the reporters brain short-circuit for a second. Lena sneaked her hand around her waist and pulled her impossibly closer. Slowly she put a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, her fingertips lingering on the side of her face as she bit her lip. Kara could feel her face heating up and could do nothing but stare into the brunette's green eyes. The air around them was hotter than before and Lena's gaze was intoxicating.

“I still have some work to catch up on at the lab and I already donated. But do call tomorrow.”, the scientist replied, not taking her eyes off the blonde.

“Right,” he trailed off, “Well it was good to see you again.”

But his words were barely reaching Kara's ears. She was still hypnotized by the way Lena was looking at her. How she was still so close to her. All she could see was the brunette and for the first time her Lena from Metropolis wasn't at the back of her mind.

Maxwell Lorde was gone. The reporter was aware of that and the scientist must have been as well. However neither of them were making any effort to separate. Their eyes were still locked and the blonde's hand had settled at the brunette's hips. Partly to not have her arm hanging awkwardly at her side and partly because she felt that if she didn't she would fall over.

“A creative way to go.”, Kara commended her, voice barely audible.

“I'm a genius after all.” Lena said just as breathless.

They needed to let go of each other. Their act was over and it wasn't like anything was going to happen between them. The blonde closed her eyes and forced herself to take a small step backwards. When she opened her eyes again Lena seemed to have gone back to her stoic self. The only indication that she had been as affected as the blonde was the rose color that painted her cheeks.

Lena was the first one to break the silence: “I really should be heading back to the lab. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”

As she started to walk away Kara quickly reached out to stop her. The brunette turned around and looked at her questioningly.

“Before I came over I had actually decided to go home. Mind if I walk you downstairs?”

Lena's warm smile sufficed as an answer and the two women made their way towards the elevator. They didn't talk, but the silence was a comfortable one. When the elevator doors opened they stepped inside and the blonde pushed the button.

“I was wondering,” the reporter started cautiously, “Are you very busy tomorrow? I wanted to check out the force shield again and see if there are any clues...”

“Do you think you'll find something there? Wouldn't it be better if we looked for any clues at Luthor Corp? You could come by my office and we could look through some files and see if we can discover something odd there.”, Lena suggested.

“Really?”, Kara beamed hopeful.

“Yes. I want to clear my company's name. If we do find something that further incriminates Luthor Corp I'd also like to be the first to know. So what do you say?”

“I'm one hundred percent in.”, the blonde grinned.

The doors opened again and the two made their way outside. There was already a limousine waiting and a driver immediately jumped out to open the door for the brunette when he spotted them.

“Do you need a lift?”, the scientist asked her when she noticed that the blonde had stopped.

“I'll just find a taxi, don't worry about it.”

“Don't be ridiculous, get in.”

Kara told the driver her address and then turned to face Lena again. If someone would have told her that the brunette would be offering her a ride home at the beginning of the night she would have told them that that would be too good to be true. Now that she was sitting next to the other girl though she was happy that she would have been wrong. Their dynamic had shifted. It was almost like they had gotten familiar with each other, despite only just having mended what had been broken the day they had met. However the blonde couldn't shake the feeling that she was maybe being manipulated. Something about the way the scientist acted was too good to be true.

As the limousine came to a halt Kara turned to Lena: “Thanks for the ride. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?”

“Does nine o'clock work for you?”

“Yeah,” the blonde smiled and wanted to get out, but the brunette's voice let her turn around one final time.

“Just because I agreed to give you another chance doesn't mean that I'll hesitate to cut you out of my life if you betray me again.”

Kara didn't doubt that for a second. The blonde didn't know if Lena had been manipulating her or had let her get close for the past couple of hours because she had decided to let herself in on their new relationship. But whatever it was, Kara was thankful for it. She had gotten a glimpse of what could possibly develop between them and that was reason enough for her to smile. The reporter would not waver in her attempt to earn back her trust and get to know her better.

“I know. Good night Lena.”

“Good night Kara.”

Back in her apartment the first thing the reporter did was get rid of her high heels. Her feet had been killing her for the last hour and she sighed with relief. Next she removed all her make up and got ready for bed.

As she thought about everything that had happened some things became clearer to her. From the start she had treated National City's Lena as if she were her Lena from university. However tonight that had shifted. The blonde no longer saw them as the same person who just acted a bit differently. Her relationship with each was unique, definitely distinguishable.

In Metropolis the brunette was her friend. They had clicked from the moment they had met and had opened up to one another. There was mutual trust and a strong connection. Whenever Kara looked at Lena her heart fluttered and all-together their bond was sweet in nature. The blonde adored her and was way past the point of successfully trying to deny her budding feelings for her new friend. But she treasured her bond with the brunette too much to do something. Plus there was also Veronica.

Here her relationship with Lena was more tumultuous. In less than 48 hours she had managed to gain and break the scientist's trust only to then convince her that she was worthy of a second chance. There were no sweet speeches or sharing of stories. They were partners working together on a task. It wasn't a friendship, rather a business relationship. But then again there was a lot of chemistry. Kara knew it had only been an act to make Maxwell leave the brunette alone, however the way her heart had beaten like crazy had not been fake. The blonde was obviously attracted to Lena and a tiny part of her thought and hoped that the attraction was mutual.

It wasn't the first time that Kara noticed how different her relationship with one person was in her two lives. What was new though was that it made her entire mindset shift. The blonde had always seen her two lives as her life, singular. Always waking up in the other one had been her reality for as long as she could remember. It was her daily life to jump between the two and despite her differing connection to some she had never found it that remarkable. However now that she had unique relationships with both Lenas she saw how separate her lives truly were. 

The brunette was something else, she meant something more than just the average person. It had been clear the moment she had laid eyes on the raven haired girl. And then there was the time she though she had dreamt of Lena's green eyes and the flashback at the charity fundraiser. Lena was a game-changer and there was no use denying it.

When Kara drifted off to sleep she already knew what was going to happen. Everything around her faded as she slipped into the darkness of her sleep. Only it wasn't dark this time. The beautiful brunette was smiling back at her, green eyes sparkling.

Lena Luthor was her key.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena is Kara's key to finding out which is her reality, but there is still so much left to figure out... Do you guys think Lena is manipulating Kara and how did you like their interactions at the fundraiser? Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this :)
> 
> Also game night is coming up in the next chapter and there will be soft Supercorp interactions

**Author's Note:**

> So what are your thoughts? I'd love to interact and hear what you think about the story so far


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